The Wonder That Keeps the Stars Apart
by ClaraKeanen
Summary: Hermione Granger travels back to the time where the Marauders were in their prime. Can she do what Dumbledore has asked and not only locate Rowena's diadem but also save Sirius Black's life? And when she returns to her time, will she have done enough to help end this war once and for all? (A/N: Alt. timeline.)
1. Chapter 1

They had planned on sneaking out of Hogwarts that night. Harry's vision about Sirius had thrown him into an absolutely tizzy and it waiting until nightfall was torturous. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville, Ginny, Luna and the others were running silently towards the door when all of the sudden Professor McGonagall's voice rang out through the silence: "Ms. Granger!"

Harry, who was in the lead, turned to look at the others. Hermione had taken up the last place in the group. The frightened faces of her friends glowed in the moonlight, and Hermione urged them forward.

"Go!" Hermione commanded.

Harry turned to face her, eyes wide. "Hermione, we can't leave without you-"

"Yes you can, Harry, you have to!" She angrily whispered back. "I'll try to shake McGonagall and I'll meet you there later!"

"But-"

"There's no time to argue, Ronald Weasley! Just go! Hurry!"

With one last sorrowful look Harry and the rest of the group turned and continued down the hallway. Hermione squared her shoulders, turned around, and walked quickly back down the hallway towards McGonagall's voice.

"I'm sorry to be out of the common room, Professor, I had just been visiting Hagrid-" Hermione began, but as she turned the corner she was stopped in her tracks. McGonagall was there, of course, but it was Dumbledore's twinkling eyes, creased with worry, that halted her speech.

"I assume your friends are on their way to the Ministry?" He questioned quietly.

Hermione started to shake her head, but Dumbledore cut in again. "There's no use trying to hide this, Ms. Granger. This has been seen."

"But by who? And if you know this, why do you need me?" Hermione finally questioned.

McGonagall, who had until this point remained silent, gazed sadly at her favorite student. "We will tell you on the way, my dear. I'm afraid there isn't much time."

With that, McGonagall and Dumbledore turned towards the Headmaster's office, and Hermione had to run to keep up with their quick pace. As she ran after them, she heard a few snippets of their conversation; she wished she could have heard more, but her heartbeat was pulsing madly in her ears.

"This is too much to ask, Albus-"

"There's no other way, Minerva. We need him if we want to win. She is strong, you have nothing to worry about."

"But a year!"

"If we hope to have any chance of ending this war before it starts, it must be done. And you forget this is not just for the boy's sake-"

The threesome arrived at the steps outside of the Office, and the conversation halted as Dumbledore whispered the password. Hermione followed her elders silently up the stairs, but when they had finally reached the office she had had enough.

"Professor McGonagall, Dumbledore, what is going on?"

Dumbledore turned to McGonagall. "Can you finish preparing everything?"

"Of course," she said. McGonagall stepped in the floo and disappeared into the green smoke. Dumbledore turned around, sighing.

"Ms. Granger, please have a seat." After she complied, he began again. "Ms. Granger, in approximately three and a half minutes Sirius Black will arrive at the Ministry, saving Harry and your friends from an attack led my Lucius Malfoy. Five minutes from now, Bellatrix will cast a disarming spell that will throw Sirius towards the Veil. Surely you've heard of the Veil, Ms. Granger?"

Hermione nodded. "But sir, how do you know this?"

Dumbledore smiled grimly. "Professor Trelawny rarely has visions, but when she does they can be trusted." Hermione raised her eyebrows in doubt, but Dumbledore continued on, not noticing her skepticism. "In five minutes Sirius Black will have to make a choice. He will be pushed back into the Veil, and if he does not fight it, he will die."

Suddenly all of the breath left Hermione's body. Time felt like it slowed down as her brain raced a million miles an hour, trying to process what she had just been told. "That's – that's awful!" She finally exclaimed. "But what do you mean 'if he does not fight it?'"

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as he finally glanced at Hermione. "There are a great many things we do not know about the Veil. Still, there have been those who have survived it's pull."

"How?"

"It seems those that survive have a strong reason for doing so; they believe in something greater than themselves. They have something worth fighting for. And that," he said, walking over to his desk, "is where you come in."

Hermione frowned. "I'm not sure I understand, Professor. His love for Harry - ?" She couldn't finish the sentence.

Dumbledore opened the top door of his desk and pulled out a small box. He opened the box and pulled out the sparkling necklace. It was a time-turner, but smaller and more beautiful than any Hermione had ever seen. Albus turned back towards Hermione, his eyes still fixed upon the trinket in his hand. "Sirius Black loves Harry deeply, Ms. Granger. You do not need to doubt that. However, the guilt he feels over the death of James and Lily has overpowered any positive emotion he has had for eighteen years now." He looked up at her, a twinkle in his eye. "You are a brilliant witch, Ms. Granger, and you are the only person I trust to honestly complete this task. Well, two tasks. It has not passed my notice that you missed more than your fair share of classes last year, which is rather surprising, as our sixth year has quite difficult subject matter. You have been chasing Horcruxes, have you not?"

She was completely shocked. All Hermione could do was nod. After they had discovered what Umbridge was really up to – posing as a DADA professor in order to locate and protect Voldemort's horcruxes – Hermione had spent much of her sixth year tracking down the remaining Horcruxes with the boys at every opportunity. Between classes and hunting and the ever increasing threat of Voldemort's attack, she felt as if she would break if they didn't find all of the Horcruxes. They had been able to locate all but three: Nagini, Voldemort's pet, Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem, and third, which was still a mystery.

Dumbledore didn't register her shock. "I'm sure you're aware by now that Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem has been missing for nearly twenty years, and that it is one of the few Horcruxes that remains." His eyes gazed at the time turner once again sadly. "I know that I am once again asking too much from you, but if you do not succeed, we will not have any chance of winning this war."

A million more thoughts flew through Hermione's head, but she pushed them all aside. "What must I do?"

Dumbledore smiled. "The brightest and the bravest witch, if I may," he replied. "This time turner is charmed, Ms. Granger. Once you spin it three times around, you will set the magic in motion. You will be sent back to Sirius Black's seventh year here at Hogwarts. You will meet James and Lily, but Hermione, no matter what you may try to do you cannot save them. It is a point in time that cannot be changed. And you must stay as far away from Voldemort's uprising as possible. However, there are some things that you do need to change: you must locate Ravenclaw's diadem after Voldemort has made it a Horcrux and bring it safely here to present time, and you must befriend Mr. Black and make sure that he in no way feels responsible for the Potter's death. You must make his reason to live stronger than his belief that he deserves death. Do you understand so far?"

Hermione nodded, taking it all in. "Perfect," Dumbledore continued. "While only a few moments will pass here in the present, you will be in the past for the full year – meaning, you will be 19 when you return to our time. You don't need to worry about the time turner being faulty; you will have three minute's notice before you are sent back. And even if for some reason you are separated from the time turner, the magic will not stop – you will return here. And also, the charm is set for a specific date and time: June 7th at 6 o'clock in the evening, right before Voldemort's first raid at Hogwarts."

The fireplace flashed green again and McGonagall stepped out, carrying Hermione's green bag. "I took the liberty of packing up some of your things, Ms. Granger," she said. Hermione looked up in her face and saw that her eyes were shining with unshed tears. "I have complete faith in you."

Hermione turned back and looked at Dumbledore. "Who will I say that I am? Will the other professors accept me?"

Dumbledore smiled wistfully again. "Do not worry, Ms. Granger. Thanks to this charm I will have full knowledge of who you are and why you have been sent back."

Hermione stared at him in shock. "But how is this possible? This kind of magic is beyond anything I thought we were capable of!"

At this, McGonagall and Dumbledore looked at each other sadly. "It was Severus' final gift to us. It took him years to create this charm."

"Wait, you've been knowing this would happen for years?!" Hermione shrieked.

"No, my dear child," McGonagall was quick to reassure her. "We simply knew that we would need this charm at some point; we had no idea of what it was meant for specifically until very recently."

Dumbledore stood up, walked over to Hermione, and handed her the time turner. She secured it around her neck, careful not to touch it until it was time to go. "One final thing, Ms. Granger. When you return it will be one minute from now in the future. Professor McGonagall will be here waiting for you; my services are needed at the Ministry."

Hermione blinked away the tears in her eyes. Dumbledore reached for her shoulders and gazed into her eyes. "I know that I am asking more of you than anyone, but I know that you can do this. And I believe that you know you can do this too."

She nodded and forced a smile at Dumbledore and McGonagall. Professor McGonagall was wiping tears away from her face and Dumbledore just looked at her with his eyes twinkling like always. He looked proud.

"It's time, Ms. Granger."

She nodded. Taking the time turner in her hand, she looked at her two favorite professors and smiled. "I'll see you soon," she whispered softly. Then, with three twirls of the time turner, the Headmaster's Office disappeared around her and Hermione travelled into a large ball of light.

 _(A/N: Thank you to everyone for the reviews and for letting me know that there was a glitch in uploading! Sorry about that And just to clarify the timeline: the fight at the Ministry happens right before the final battle at Hogwarts, and this is the Golden Trio's seventh year. They spent their fifth and sixth years hunting down horcruxes and revealing Umbridge to be a rogue death eater. Hermione is 18, Sirius Black is still alive, Dumbledore isn't dying/wasn't killed by Draco – I completely cut that storyline – Snape, however, has already been killed by Voldemort. I think that's about it! Thank you for letting me take creative liberties with the storyline, and I can't wait to see where this takes us! And yes, I am currently writing another story as well, "Orion's Bane", but some days I feel like shipping Hermione with Draco and other days it's someone else. I'll post more frequently to both stories, I promise Once again, thanks everyone!)_


	2. Chapter 2

A blinding light surrounded her, and even though she was squeezing her eyes shut she could feel the tears streaming down her cheeks as the winds of time flew by. The soft humming sound that accompanied time travel swiftly grew louder and louder until BANG! The wind stopped, the bright light dimmed, and Hermione realized that she had arrived. She blinked once, twice, three times, and desperately wiped the tears away from her face. She was still in the Headmaster's Office, but the worn tapestries she had grown to love looked brand new. Too new, in fact. The room seemed to emit a golden glow that had been lost as of late in Hermione's time. She continued to blink furiously, trying to process all of these events as quickly as possible, when she heard Dumbledore softly clearing his throat.

She whirled around to face his desk, wiping the last of the tears from her face. Dumbledore smiled at her, a twinkle in his eye. He looked exactly the same as her Dumbledore, except his beard was a bit shorter and more grey than pure white. He smiled again, as if reading her thoughts.

"I'm so glad to see that you arrived safely, Ms. Granger. I have been expecting your arrival. I trust the trip was pleasant – well, as pleasant as such a thing could be?"

Hermione could only nod, her faculties slowly returning as her mind stopped whirling.

"May I-" she finally asked, but instead of finishing her question, she flopped down onto the nearest chair.

"Of course Ms. Granger, please have a seat! I should have thought of that myself," Dumbledore added as an afterthought. Hermione nodded once again, and Dumbledore watched her face intently, looking for a signal that she was ready to proceed with the conversation. After a few minutes he had determined that she had enough of a blush in her cheeks to continue their discussion.

"As you know Ms. Granger, I have asked that you remain here for the year. From what I understand your own seventh year at Hogwarts has consisted less of learning and more of trying to survive. While you are here on a very important mission, it is also important to me that you take this time to relax, refocus and retrain. You are the brains of your operation, after all-" seeing her try to shake her head in denial, he chuckled. "You know that if your friends were here they would say it too."

Dumbledore stood and began to pace around the room. "While the others have had the opportunity to explore who they are as people while fighting an insurmountable enemy, you have devoted your time to helping them in any way you can. Your selflessness is incredibly admirable, Ms. Granger. But, while you are here, I insist that for as much as you work on completing your tasks, you work on yourself."

At this Dumbledore walked over to Hermione and knelt by her chair, gazing into her eyes. "Unfortunately you have grown up feeling like you have to constantly prove yourself in order to be worthy of friendship, of happiness, of love. That is the lie Voldemort wants you to believe. That is his greatest weapon against you. You may be the brightest witch of your age and lethal in combat, but you do not believe in or love yourself enough, and that is the most important trial you must overcome. If you are to succeed here and back in your time, you must believe in who you are and what you are worth. You don't need to prove anything to anyone, Hermione. You are enough."

Hermione sat still throughout his entire speech, but at those final words it felt as if a damn had burst in her heart and she hunched over in her chair, crying out as the sobs ripped through her chest. As much as she hated to admit it, she hated admitting any weakness, he knew that she was right. All of her time these past few years had been devoted to helping Harry, keeping Harry safe, making sure Harry was taken care of, making sure Ron was passing his classes, studying extra hard so Malfoy's words were never validated. But in spite of all of the things she had accomplished, she believed everything they said about her. Ugly. Bossy. Know-it-all. Mudblood. Unworthy. Nothing. Better off dead.

She tried to fight it. Or at least, she told herself that she did. In reality, she just simply ignored it. Ignored the giant hole, the pain that was eating away at her heart until she felt like she would snap. None of her friends saw it, her parents didn't even see it, but somehow Dumbledore /  
And suddenly this mission truly made sense. She had the skills necessary to do the job – the empathy needed to save Sirius, the brains to find the diadem – but she was being given something more beautiful than what she was doing in return: the chance to learn to believe in herself, to love herself.

Hermione couldn't be sure how much time had passed by. All she knew was that the ache in her heart started to lessen as the final few tears fell from her eyes, and every time Dumbledore rubbed her arm she felt like some of her uncertainty and fear was being taken away. Finally, she turned and looked at him in his eyes, trepidation and determination shining in hers. "Thank you," she finally said. "Thank you for giving me this opportunity. I think I can do this."

Dumbledore smiled back at her. "Ms. Granger, I know you can."

She smiled a small smile back at him. Pleased to see that there was hope back in her eyes, Dumbledore stood and moved back to his chair behind his desk. "Now, for some practical matters. I have a backstory prepared for you. Your name is Mya Delacourt, a transfer student from Beauxbatons. While you have lived in England most of your life, which will explain your lack of a French accent, your father was a professor at Beauxbatons and insisted that you attend school there. Your mother, an Auror in France, and your father were murdered by a supporter of the Dark Lord, and the school sent you here for safety. How does that sound so far?"

Hermione nodded her head. "That sounds very good."

Dumbledore chuckled. "I'm glad I have your approval, Ms. Granger." Hermione blushed furiously and stared at the fireplace, suddenly very curious to discern how many bricks composed the edifice.

Dumbledore continued. "I have already spoken with the Head Boy and Head Girl about your unique situation, and Mr. Longbottom has offered to stay with the Hufflepuff prefects. That means you will be sharing the Head Boy and Girl rooms with Ms. Evans."

Hermione's eyes widened, her mind racing furiously once again. Harry's mother? _Of course_ , she thought to herself, _all of the marauders will be here!_ She was immediately thrilled and saddened by the prospect at the same time.

"Do not let the future be a burden to you, Ms. Granger. Make the most of the time you have with your fellow classmates." Hermione nodded vigorously in return. She would do everything she could to make this time count. Her memories of his parents would make an incredible gift once the war was over.

"As I hinted at before, you will be studying with all of the other seventh years and taking all of the Advanced courses you were scheduled to take in your time. That being said, I had to pull some strings, but I have arranged it so that at least one of the Marauders is in each of your classes. They will be the most helpful to you during your year here. And I believe you share every class with Ms. Evans as well! Like I said, you must make the most of it."

Dumbledore turned and glanced at the great grandfather clock next to the fireplace. "Ms. Evans and Mr. Longbottom will be arriving tomorrow early afternoon, a few hours before the rest of the students. I will have Tunie show you to your quarters, and I insist that you get as much rest as you can!" Dumbledore turned back to Hermione, his eyes twinkling. "This is sure to be a year to remember!"

Turning around, Dumbledore snapped his fingers and a small house elf in a pink dress appeared, blushing furiously. "Ahh, Miss Petunia, meet Ms. Delacourt. Would you mind escorting her to the Head Girl's Tower?"

Tunie bowed ceremoniously. "Of course Headmaster!"

She scurried over to Hermione, grabbed hold of her hand, and began to yank her towards the door. "Oh, and Ms. Delacourt! One more thing!"

Dumbledore walked over and picked the time turner off of her neck. Muttering a small incantation under his breath, the time turner transformed into a small glittering ruby. "There! A much less suspicious piece of jewelry, if I do say so myself!" He grinned, pleased with his work. "And if you ever need anything, do not hesitate to ask."

Hermione grabbed hold of his hand and shook it furiously. "Thank you, for everything" she whispered, her voice cracking with emotion. The great wizard just smiled in return as the young witch was dragged out the door.

It felt like Hermione was flying down the hallway. How on earth could such a small thing be so strong? And move so quickly? Before she knew it they were standing in front of a portrait of Lord William Brimble, who compiled the first guidebook to Magical Creatures.

"Well, you must be Ms. Delacourt!" the portrait exclaimed, smiling widely. He removed his hat and swung it to the ground in a grand sweeping gesture. "Lord William Brimble, at your service. If there is anything you need my lady, do not hesitate to ask."

Hermione giggled and curtsied back. "Thank you, Lord Brimble."

"Oh please, call me Will," he blushed. "Now, I can only say this once," he said, focusing on the serious matters at hand. "Your password will be 'sugar quill.'"

Hermione grinned. "Dumbledore's idea?"

William chuckled back. "But of course! Now, off to bed with you Ms. Delacourt, tomorrow is a big day!"

Hermione turned and hugged Petunia. "Thank you so much Tunie!" Petunia turned three different shades of pink, mumbled a "you're welcome," and was gone in a flash. Hermione turned back to Lord Brimble and repeated the password. Wishing him a good night, she stepped through the door into a small common room. It was decorated in Gryffindor colors, had a small fireplace of its own, and a multitude of couches that were sure to be more comfortable than they actually looked. She glanced to the left and saw a door with her name on it. She walked into the bedroom, took one look at the queen sized bed covered with red and gold blankets, and pounced. She fell asleep instantly.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Of Knights and the Great Hall

 _Echoes of the last few years rang through her mind as Hermione slept. Harry catching the snitch. Finding Sirius Black. Voldemort's return. Cedric alive one moment and dead the next. The Deathly Hollows. Malfoy Manor. Blades. Mudblood. Screaming. Groaning, she tossed and turned in her bed, as if hoping that her frenetic movements would chase the demons of her past away, but the visions continued. The Cruciatus curse. Her parents. Crookshanks. Dinner with the Weasley family. Studying with Harry._

 _Harry. Her best friend. Her unconscious self clung onto that vision, as a lifeline in the vast darkness of her memories, and she dreamed of the darkness no more that night._

A sudden rapping on the door startled Hermione awake. Blinking her eyes wearily, she glanced around her tower room that was currently bathed in the light of the mid-day sun. The walls were composed of the same comforting brick that could be found in Gryffindor tower, and wide windows occupied two sides of the walls. The bed that she had collapsed onto the night before was on the same wall as the door, and an antique armoire and dresser set was to her immediate right. A large chestnut desk was on the left wall, underneath a window that she could now see overlooked the Quidditch fields and Hagrid's hut. The window on the right wall, close to the dresser, overlooked the loch. The wall immediately across from her bed was empty, and Hermione supposed she could decorate it however she wished.

She heard the rapping sound at her door again. Hermione sat up, stretched, and straightened out her clothes as she shuffled over to the door, trying her hardest to stifle a yawn. She had hardly opened the door when it flew open, knocking against her head. Growling, she gingerly rubbed her head. "I'm right here!"

Hermione was expecting a courteous reply. What she was not expecting was the great owl that sailed into her room, circled above the bed, and came to rest on her desk.

Hermione shrieked and leaped away from the desk, back onto her bed. The owl followed, hooting, and landed on the foot of her bed. Hermione froze. Harry had Hedwig, and Hedwig was always such a well-behaved owl. Were owls supposed to behave this way? Maybe it was sick.

Hermione cocked her head at the owl, eyes squinting. The owl hooted and followed suit, cocking his head at her and squinting his eyes. Hermione giggled in surprise, and seeing her smile, the owl hooted in return.

"Ahh, Ms. Delacourt, I do apologize. I am not certain what has gotten into that owl!" Hermione heard Dumbledore exclaim. He stood outside her door, and his eyes twinkled with an unconcealed mirth as he gazed at the owl.

Hermione chuckled. "It's quite all right, Professor. Is he one of the school owls?"

"Unfortunately, no. While he is a great horned owl, and those make up the majority of our post, he is not entirely an owl. Hagrid suspects there is some Kneazle in him. To be honest, I am completely surprised as his behavior. He spends most of his days hissing at the students that walk by Hagrid's hut. He doesn't let anyone touch him, and he has been completely untrainable. Until now, that is."

While Dumbledore had been speaking, the owl had padded over slowly to Hermione from the end of the bed. When he saw that she was not going to be making any sudden movements, he leaped over and landed on her leg. Hermione reached over and ruffled his feathers, and he began cooing.

"Yes," Dumbledore laughed, "that is most unusual behavior."

Hermione smiled, gazing at the owl. "Well, I'm glad to know I've made at least one friend here. You are more than happy to stay here with me, Gawain."

Dumbledore raised his eyebrows in merriment. "Gawain?"

Hermione turned back to Dumbledore, grinning from ear to ear. "An important name for such a special friend."

Gawain cooed happily, as if he was pleased with his new name.

Dumbledore laughed a deep belly laugh. "I am glad you two have found each other then, Ms. Delacourt. However, Sir Gawain here-" he started, looking pointedly at the owl, who continued to ignore him, "is not the reason I stopped by. It appears that Ms. Evans and Mr. Longbottom have decided to return with the rest of the students on the Hogwarts Express, so unfortunately you will not meet them until the Feast this evening. Fortunately, I was speaking with Professor McGonagall, who suggested you floo over to Diagon Alley to make any last minute purchases you may need. The fireplace in your common room has been charmed to allow you to floo from it with a professor's permission, and I have cast a spell that will allow you to leave and return today. The floo powder is on the mantelpiece. Will that be okay for you?"

Hermione nodded her head vigorously. "Thank you very much, Professor."

Dumbledore smiled widely. "Of course, Ms. Delacourt. I will leave you to your devices. Oh, and please remember, the Feast begins at six o'clock sharp."

Hermione nodded again. "Of course, Professor."

"Enjoy your day, Ms. Delacourt." With those parting words, Dumbledore whirled around and disapparated from her doorway.

Hermione turned back to gaze at Gawain. "Well, Sir Gawain, what do you say we conjure up some breakfast?"

Gawain hooted heartily, and Hermione summoned breakfast, which was delivered by none other than Petunia. After explaining to Tunie that yes, the owl was perfectly safe, and that no, she didn't need to force him out of the room with a broom, the three of them sat down for a lovely mid-morning breakfast.

It was around half-past one when Hermione appeared in Madame Malkin's fireplace. After her delicious breakfast, provided by an eager to please Tunie, Hermione had spent the rest of her morning unpacking her belongings from her beaded bag. Somehow Professor McGonagall had charmed her bookshelf and books to move as one object, so moving it around the room while she figured its arrangement was quick in easy. She decided to place the bookshelf to the right of her bed, next to the window that overlooked the loch. McGonagall had only been able to pack some of the essentials, it seemed. She found a few of her favorite jumpers, her favorite quills and ink pots, her Gryffindor tie and scarf, ten feet of parchment, and more galleons than she knew what to do with.

She was a little uncertain about leaving Gawain alone in her room, but as soon as he was finished eating the leftover bacon from her brunch he promptly curled up on her bed and began to snooze. It was his bed time, after all. She quickly conjured up a list of supplies she would need, and kissing him lightly on the forehead, flooed to Diagon Alley and directly into Madame Mulkin's shop.

Hermione groaned wearily as she stepped out of the floo. Shopping for wizarding garb had never been her favorite thing – mainly because she normally didn't have enough wizard currency to pay for anything nice. What other people saw as laziness Hermione knew was just her frugal nature. McGonagall must have sent some of the school's money along with her. It was the least they could do, given what they were asking of her.

Hermione turned around at the sound of a cheerful "Hello!" and found herself staring at Madame Malkin. Madame was a short witch with long auburn hair and a twinkle in her eye. Hermione soon found herself smiling back at the kind witch.

"Welcome to my shop! You must be new around here. My name is Madame Malkin, what can I do for you?" Malkin began, smiling brightly.

Hermione grinned in return. "I'm Mya Delacourt, I just transferred to Hogwarts. I'm afraid most of my belongings were destroyed in – " Hermione was surprised that tears sprung to her eyes. Angrily, she brushed them away. Now was not a time for sadness. This time was a gift, and the horrors of her past were just that, in the past.

Madame Malkin, as if guessing the pain Hermione had been through, grasped her arms and pulled her into a tight embrace. "Of course my dear! I will gladly take care of you myself." She pulled back to look at the young witch. "And you're such a pretty thing! Finding robes that look nice on you will not be hard at all."

With a strong yank, Hermione found herself tossed into a dressing room. Different measuring tapes flew and whirled around her head as a quill took note of her measurements. Madame Malkin then showed Hermione a variety of different colors and cloths and the different robes, skirts and blouses she could design. After twenty minutes of deliberating, Hermione and Madame Malkin decided on seven robes: three black, one royal blue, one deep purple, one wine colored, and the other a forest green. Madame Malkin had convinced her that "jewel tones would pair wonderfully with her skin tone" and Hermione couldn't protest against her graciousness. She also picked out two pencil skirts and two pleated skirts, one in black and gray each, and seven different colored chiffon blouses, one white, one black, one gray, and four that were colored identically to her new jewel-toned robes. Undergarments, flats, heels, boots, and stockings were added to the growing pile.

Madame Malkin even almost convinced Hermione to procure a large amount of costume jewelry, but Hermione put her foot down there. Instead, she opted for a rose-patterned ring that was charmed to cover up any scars on the wearer's arm. Hermione placed it on her left hand's index finger and was relieved to see that the word "Mudblood" was hidden from view. Malkin also charmed the ring so that the metal would change color to match whatever she was wearing. "Versatile accessories are the key," she repeated as she rung up the total. In the end, she gave Hermione a large discount that Hermione had fought against, but to no avail.

Since Hermione had about two hours until her order was ready, she decided to wander through the other shops. She made a quick stop at Flourish and Blotts and picked up inks in different jewel tone shades on a whim. A small boutique next door to Madame Malkin's lured her in with its sweetly scented perfumes, and she left with a hair pomade that when worked into your hair, could be styled into any style of your choosing with a flick of your wand, and would only work itself out your hair was washed the next time. She also left with enough bobby pins to last her a lifetime; no matter how many she put into her hair, by the end of the day they all had disappeared.

Her final stop was to Eeylops Owl Emporium, where she purchased a large owl post for Gawain. What she had purchased, in effect, was a giant tree. When it was placed into a room the branches would grow over the ceiling and small flowers would blossom that would glow in the dark. The trunk was hollow and full of comfortable pillows and blankets, and it could be charmed to change size to better suit the owl. It was a rather expensive purchase, and it took about twenty minutes to figure out how to charm it so it would fit in her beaded bag, but Hermione needed to have it.

Finally, at around a quarter to four, Hermione flooed back into the common room of the Head Girl's tower. Gasping for breath, she raced into her room to unpack all of her purchases. Gawain squawked in surprise and frustration when she had first barged in, but soon after began hooting for joy as he circle around his new abode. Hermione placed the tree on the wall opposite of her bed, between the two windows, and with a quick flick of her wand it grew to it's normal size and the branches spread all over her ceiling. Her wardrobe was soon full of her dress robes, her dresser was soon littered with the hair products and bobby pins she had purchased, the new ink pots were lined up on her desk and her shoes were lined up next to the doorway.

Hermione collapsed onto her bed, puffing. Who knew that shopping was so expensive?

She glanced at the antique clock on her wall. It was already half past five. Where had the time gone? Groaning, she leaned further back into her bed.

As if sensing that Hermione needed to get moving, Gawain left his humble abode and landed on top of her, hooting indignantly. "All right, all right, I'll get up!" Hermione growled.

Gawain took to the air and flew over to her wardrobe. He grasped at her new wind red robes with his talons, and sailed across the room, dropping them on top of her.

Hermione struggled to get up under the weight of the robes. "Gawain! I'm supposed to wear black!"

Gawain slammed the wardrobe shut with his wing and proceed to fly back and forth in front of it slowly, as if patrolling. Hermione tried to get into it once, but he hooted loudly until she finally gave up.

She grumbled. "If I'm the laughingstock of the school because of your fashion choices, I'm not sharing any more of my breakfast with you."

Gawain cooed in return, as if to say "Like you could resist me."

Chuckling, Hermione quickly changed into the wine colored robes and sat in front of her desk. She wiped some of the magical pomade onto her hands and began working it through her hair. Pulling out the instruction manual, (yes, this hair product came with an instruction manual,) she muttered a quick charm and her normally frizzy hair suddenly cascaded down her back in vintage 40s style curls.

Grinning, she quickly conjured up the few tubes of make-up she had purchased. Ten minutes later, she pulled away from the mirror and gazed at her appearance.

She was beautiful. Hermione knew that she was beautiful without make-up too, of course, but the simple eyeliner and mascara she had applied made her eyes pop. Tears formed in her eyes and she covered her mouth, giggling with glee. If only everyone could see her now! And in that moment, Hermione knew the truth: not only was she smart, but she was beautiful, inside and out. This awareness gave her a new sense of power. It was in that moment she decided that no person, especially no Draco Malfoy, could ever make her feel bad about herself again.

Humming to herself, she was in the middle of putting on a lipstain that matched her robes when the loud crack of apparition rang throughout the tower. Jumping up, Hermione ran into the common room just in time to see Petunia directing two other elves in hanging up a portrait.

Hermione walked towards Petunia, curious. "Tunie? What's going on?"

Petunia turned around and gasped, tears in her eyes. "Oh, Ms. Delacourt, you look absolutely beautiful! You must hurry, the feast will start soon!"

Hermione blushed. "I'm headed right that way, Tunie. But what is this portrait of?"

Petunia smiled proudly. "This portrait is a gift from Mr. James Potter. The portrait is of Ms. Lily's favorite muggle artist. He even sings!"

Hermione froze. If James Potter was anything like the Weasley twins – and she knew this was the case – then this was certainly not an ordinary portrait.

Hermione summoned her heels to her and hurried over to Petunia. "Tunie, what do you mean he sings?"

Petunia handed over a sheet of paper. "It's what the directions say! Mr. Potter said that he was set to perform sometime this evening."

Hermione stared at the paper, blanching. This portrait was charmed to sing all right. And since it was now affixed to the walls of Hogwarts, and the feast was starting…..

The opening chords of "Don't Be Cruel" suddenly poured loudly throughout the tower. The black-haired man in the portrait burst to life. Swinging his guitar back and forth over his hips, he jumped out of his portrait. Hermione heard Lord Brimble's shocked outburst, followed by several "Well, I nevers!" as the music faded from the tower.

Clutching her wand tightly in her hand, Hermione hugged Petunia goodbye and raced out of the tower. She halted to a stop in front of Lord Brimble, whose hat was askew. "Lord Brimble! It seems we have a run-away rock and roller. If I'm able to stun him, can you bring him back and keep him here in his portrait?"

Lord Brimble pulled a large butterfly net out of nowhere and saluted. "I await your orders, General Delacourt."

Grinning, Hermione leapt down the great staircase, chasing after the musician. The other portraits were conversing loudly in protest as the newcomer ran through, disrupting their scenes. The fat lady outside of Gryffindor was blushing a most becoming shade of crimson, while several men in medieval dress were wailing over their spilled ales.

Hermione read through the document quickly as she ran towards the great hall. The music was getting louder and louder, and there wasn't a counter curse listed on the instructions. "Bloody hell!" she howled in frustration.

Turning down the final corridor, she heard the music quiet as the musician hopped into the portraits in the great hall. She heard screaming and loud cheering which barely drowned out the sound of Professor Dumbledore trying to maintain order.

The doors to the great hall were shut and guarded by none other than Filch. He turned towards her and sneered, excited to have caught the first wayward student of the year.

"Sorry Filch, I don't have time for this!" Hermione threw him down the corridor with a flick of her wand. She pointed her wand at the large doors and they flew open with a whoosh.

She glanced quickly around the hall. It was in complete and utter chaos. The Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables were filled with boisterous students who were dancing and hollering loudly. The Ravenclaw students seemed to be trying to hex the musician, but to no avail. Slytherin simply stood nearby and sneered at the scene.

Suddenly, as the final chords of the song were played, confetti burst from the ceiling and rained down upon everyone. The words "I Love Lily" shone on the ceiling above, and Hermione shuddered to think about what her reaction would be. The screams grew louder and Hermione could see Dumbledore was frantically trying to calm the students down, to no avail.

Hermione growled in frustration. The sound of the song beginning over again shook her from her reverie. Quickly, she vaulted onto the Hufflepuff table, withdrew her wand from the arms of her robe, and, aiming it at the great portrait of the founders of Hogwarts, cried out "Stupefy!"

The music suddenly ceased as Elvis fell over. Seeing his opportunity, Lord Brimble raced into the portrait, caught Elvis up into his net, and fled the Great Hall, presumably back to the tower.

Hermione sighed in relief, panting due to the exertion of chasing halfway across the castle. A sudden hush fell over the students, and Hermione suddenly found herself caught in the middle of several heated gazes. However, instead of backing down, she merely tossed her glossy curls back over her shoulders and leapt gracefully down off of the Hufflepuff's table.

"Ah, Ms. Delacourt," Dumbledore finally replied, smiling widely. "I am so pleased that you have joined us."


	4. Chapter 4

James Potter felt certain that this was the best idea he'd ever had. It had taken him six years of relentless pursuit, showers of gifts, a combination of teasing and flirting and several impromptu visits over the past summer, but Lily Evans had finally agreed to go on a date with him. Naturally, the best course of action would be to throw a massive party as soon as he got back to Hogwarts – and who better to lead the festivities than Lily's favorite singer?

As soon as he heard the opening strains of the song, James Potter had catapulted off the Gryffindor bench and conjured up a magical guitar. Granted, he couldn't play the guitar, but it was all for show anyways. He slid and danced up and down the aisles, singing and winking at the younger girls who blushed and giggled like crazy. Nothing could tear him out of his element.

Remus Lupin was certain that James Potter was the world's biggest idiot. Yes, it had taken James six years to convince Lily to go on a date with him – and honestly, how did he even manage THAT? Remus asked himself – but who had been the one to counsel both Lily and James through all of their fights? Remus Lupin, of course. And now that James had finally convinced Lily he was man enough to deserve a date, he threw it out the window.

Remus groaned, rubbing the bridge of his nose. This was the worst idea James had ever dreamed up. No, Remus thought, this is the worst idea Sirius ever dreamed up. James was a very smart guy, but Sirius Black was famous for his shenanigans and utter disregard for appropriate conduct. Remus turned to his right and saw Sirius necking with Iris Brown, a sixth year Gryffindor who had more hair than brains. Remus sighed again, and turned back to look at Lily Evans, who was the only other Gryffindor student ignoring the commotion.

Remus gazed at her sympathetically, but Lily Evans didn't notice. She was intently staring at the table, blinded by her fury and the few stubborn tears that refused to remain in her eyes. She clutched her head in her hands and groaned, trying to block out the noise. This isn't happening, this isn't happening, this isn't happening, she repeated to herself over and over again. Lily focused on that mantra and ignored the joy-filled screams of her classmates and the fireworks that erupted. Just breathe, Lily. Just breathe. Lily was about to hex James Potter into oblivion as the song picked up again when she heard an indignant "Stupefy!" ring out across the Great Hall. Startled, she whirled around in her seat just as Dumbledore announced that her savior was none other than her new roommate, Ms. Mya Delacourt.

Hermione could still feel the shocked stares of her classmates as she landed daintily on the floor. Now, if I was Sirius Black, where would I be sitting? Hermione turned her head to the right and found her target. James Potter was in the middle of the aisle between the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables, frozen in shock. Remus Lupin was sitting close to the far wall, mouthing the words "thank you" over and over again. And sitting on Remus Lupin's right was none other than Sirius Black.

At least, it looked sort of like Sirius Black. The young man had wavy black hair that curled down to his shoulders and the faintest hint of stubble. Hermione tried to get a better look at his face, but the young man was preoccupied by the young woman – who looked suspiciously similar to Lavender Brown – who was perched on his lap, smothering his face with kisses and giggles.

Hermione smirked and rolled her eyes. Of course. Why am I not surprised?

Dumbledore's smooth baritone finally broke her piercing stare away from Sirius Black. "Now, as I was saying before the, uh, celebration," Dumbledore began, shooting a heated look at James who, thankfully, had enough sense to look ashamed, "We are honored to be joined by our first ever transfer student from Beauxbatons, Ms. Mya Delacourt. She is a seventh year who will finish up her education here, and she has already been sorted into Gryffindor." Dumbledore's eyes found Hermione and he smiled. "Now, if that's the end of the interruptions, let us feast."

Peels of excitement echoed throughout the Great Hall as the food magically appeared. Hermione slowly felt the eyes of the congregation leaving her, and as the students began to dig in Hermione exhaled slowly through her nose. Relax, Hermione. You've got this.

"Excuse me, Ms. Delacourt?" Hermione heard a man clear his throat. She whirled around and saw none other Frank Longbottom. His slightly shaggy hair hung across his face, and he whipped it out of the way as he extended his hand to Hermione. "My name's Frank Longbottom, I'm the Head Boy here at Hogwarts. I'm so glad you're hear, you're going to have a great time!"

Hermione shook his hand vigorously and grinned widely. "Thank you so much Frank! And please, call me Mya."

Frank grinned back and opened his mouth as if he was going to reply, when a sudden commotion caught his attention and the conversation in the Great Hall lowered to a murmur.

Hermione turned around just in time to see Lily Potter – No, she's not a Potter yet, Hermione thought – cast a body-bind curse on James Potter. Lily hopped up from the bench and began stalking down towards the doors. "Lily-" James began. Lily turned back around, her furious gaze instantly silencing him.

"If you know what's good for you, James Potter, you will never speak to me again." Lily glanced up and shot a look at Sirius Black, who had pushed aside Iris Brown in order to have better access to the food. "You too, Black," she spat.

Lily turned back and marched towards Hermione and Frank. The further she walked away from the table, the more composed her countenance became, until finally she reached Hermione and smiled like she had just won the Quidditch World Cup.

"Hi there, I'm Lily Evans! It's wonderful to meet you, Mya, and thank you so much for-" she threw her hands in the air, gesturing towards the portraits on the walls.

Hermione chuckled. "Not a problem Lily! I'm so happy to meet you, I've heard so many great things!"

Lily chuckled, her laughter tinkling through the air. "Dumbledore is much too kind." She turned back and pointed at the Gryffindor table. "If you're hungry, I'm sure there is still some food left for you."

Hermione raised her eyebrows. "Aren't you going to be eating dinner?"

Lily forced a smile. "I'm suddenly not hungry."

Hermione nodded, and turned to look at Frank. "It was so great to meet you Frank, but if it's all right with you two I think I'd like to retire. I'm still catching up on sleep from all of my travelling."

Frank nodded. "Of course! That's completely understandable. Lily, would you be willing to escort Mya back to your tower? I'm sure you can find some snacks to eat there if you get hungry." He winked at Lily, who smiled back gratefully.

"Of course!" Lily stated. Smiling at Hermione, she grabbed her hand and walked as quickly as she could out of the Great Hall. "I need to unpack anyways."

Ten minutes later Hermione found herself sprawled across one of the couches in the common area of their tower. Lily sat in one of the chairs right next to the fireplaces, and the girls were stuffing themselves with the turkey and pie that Tunie had so graciously delivered.

Lily chewed her food thoughtfully and gazed at the portrait of Elvis that hung above the fireplace. "As much as I love Elvis, the last thing I want to do is look at that thing every day for the next year."

Hermione nodded in agreement. "I'm sure we could ask the elves to remove it."

Lily tilted her head. "Do you think they would?"

Hermione nodded again as she chewed her piece of dragonberry pie. "I think so! Although, if we cast the correct charm it would probably make a nice alarm clock."

Lily jumped up. "You're a genius! I have my copy of "Practical Charms for the Modern Day Witch" in my bag!" Lily raced into her room and returned with her well-loved copy of the book. After spending a few minutes flipping through the pages, she finally found the charm she was looking for.  
As she began casting the spell, Hermione took the opportunity to take a better look at Harry's mother. She was a tall, lithe redhead would walked with a certain elegance and grace that came from a place of confidence and self-knowledge. Her fiery red hair cascaded down her back, and her green eyes were alight with concentration. Lily Evans was absolutely breathtaking. It was no wonder that James Potter was so taken with her. Or Severus Snape for that matter, Hermione's brain added.

"There!" Lily sat back, smiling in triumph. "Elvis will wake us up at the same time every day, except on weekends, unless we modify the charm."

"That's awesome!" Hermione exclaimed.

Lily settled back into her chair and began devouring her piece of pie. "So Mya," she said in between bites, "tell me more about yourself."

"Well," Hermione began, rushing through all of her conversations about her history with Dumbledore, "My father was a professor at Beauxbatons and he was on assignment with the French Ministry when he met my mother, who is from England. They had a whirlwind romance and I was born a year later. My childhood home was here in England, and most of the time it was just my mother and I, but when I finally came of age I began attending Beauxbatons, where my father taught. My mother became a herbology assistant at the school, and so we spent the school year in France and the summer holiday in England. Everything was great until my parents went out one night." Hermione broke off her narrative and gazed into the fire. "There was an attack."

Hermione swallowed her tears back. The story she was telling Lily was only a small lie. Granted, her parents were muggles and she had never been to France, let alone studied there, but her parents had been attacked the summer before her sixth year. They hadn't survived their injuries.  
Hermione swallowed again and resumed her story. "They were killed during the attack, and I was captured shortly afterwards. For some reason the Death Eaters thought I would know where the other professors at Beauxbatons were hiding. I had no idea, but that didn't stop them from-"  
She cut off and quickly wiped away her tears. "It doesn't matter, really. All that matters is that I'm here now and I'm safe and I have a new beginning. My parents wouldn't want me to forget to live because they aren't here anymore. They would want me to embrace life. And I will." Hermione finally gazed up and looked at Lily, who nodded at her sadly. "What about you?" Hermione asked. "What's your story?"

Lily swallowed the last piece of her pie and cleared her throat. "My parents are muggles," she began, avoiding Hermione's eyes. "I didn't know about the wizarding world until Dumbledore showed up at my house one day. He offered me the chance to be something truly special, and I said yes. My family has hated me ever since."

"Do you like it here?" Hermione prodded.

Lily nodded. "I do. I love learning, and I've met so many amazing people here. But when you're muggleborn, it sometimes feels like you're fighting an uphill battle, you know?"

She gathered her mug of hot chocolate into her hands and gazed into the fire. "Severus Snape was my best friend here. He'll be in all of our classes, so I'm sure you'll meet him. He was nice to me from the beginning, but then he fell in with the wrong crowd. And when I wouldn't date him, he called me a "Mudblood" in front of the entire school."

Soft shudders began coursing down Lily's back, and Hermione watched, frozen in her seat, as Harry's mother cried over her crotchety potions professor. "We haven't spoken since. The one person that I thought would always be on my side! And I have worked so hard to prove to everyone that I am more than capable, that I deserve my powers, and now James Potter has made me the laughingstock of my school!"

Lily continued to cry silently. After arguing back and forth between herself for a few minutes, Hermione stood up, slid off the ring that concealed her scars from Bellatrix, and walked over to Lily.

"I want to show you something." As Lily turned to face her, Hermione lifted up the sleeve of her robe and showed her the scar. "I'm a Mudblood too - well, both of my parents are - were." she clarified, grimacing.  
Lily gasped, clutching Hermione's arm in her hands. "Mya! How?" Lily was too shocked to even finish her sentence.

Hermione pushed her lips together. "Someone with a small mind." Hermione put the ring back on her finger and Lily gasped as the offending word disappeared. Hermione tossed her hair back over her shoulder and grabbed Lily's hand. "It doesn't matter what they say. We're in this together."

Lily smiled and threw her arms around Hermione. Hermione hugged her back. This is a memory I'm going to have to show Harry, she thought to her herself. Pulling back, she saw Lily chuckle as she wiped away her tears. "And if anything, James Potter has made you the most envied girl in the school," Hermione laughed.

Lily groaned. "I still can't believe it happened!"

"I can! That boy is crazy about you. I've only been here a day and I can tell, he's nutso." And, I've met your son, but whatever, that's just a minor detail.

Lily threw her head back over the edge of the armchair. "What am I going to do?" she asked, slapping her palm against her head. "I mean, I like him, but I don't want to date a boy anymore, you know? I want to date a man! Someone who respects me and my wishes!"

Hermione snorted. "Preach it, sister."

Lily sighed and swung her legs off the arm of her chair and stood up. "I guess we can figure that out tomorrow."

"We?" Hermione asked cautiously, grinning.

"Yes, we!" Lily smiled back. "Now, I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted and I want to be well-rested for our first day of classes."

Hermione sighed. "Music to my ears!" And with that, the two new friends hugged each other a good night and went their separate ways, glad to have someone on their side to navigate through what was sure to be an interesting year.


	5. Of Potter, Potions and Patronuses

"Do you think we'll be able to occasionally change the song he sings? We're bound to grow sick of it sooner or later," Lily remarked as the girls headed down to an early breakfast.

Waking up to the crooning sounds of Elvis was a perfect way to start the day, in Hermione's opinion. Granted, it had taken her about ten minutes to finally calm Gawain – he was still not sold on the whole "singing portrait in the common room" thing – but nevertheless she felt confident going into her first day of classes. Lily had insisted on helping her decide which outfit to wear, and Hermione had decided to humor her. They finally settled on her grey pleated skirt, white chiffon blouse with a bow tied low in the front – "flirty yet professional!", Lily declared – and Hermione threw her new black robes over the top. She charmed the time-turner-pendant to match the wine-colored Gryffindor patch on her robes, and after showering she had decided to put her hair in a curly ballerina bun on top of her head. Classy, yet confident. It had only been two days since Hermione had arrived, and she already felt like she had been in this time forever.

Lily was wearing a white button up-shirt and black pencil skirt that showed off her lithe figure underneath her Gryffindor robe. Hermione had insisted that she try the new hair potion she had gotten, and Lily's normally straight hair now fell in long, delicate waves across her back. The smile on Lily's face was worth it, if it meant this whole getting-ready-together thing was going to become a regular part of the routine. Hermione decided it wasn't so bad, after all.

"I should think so! And if not, we'll hex James until he gets us a different poster," Hermione replied indignantly. Lily giggled, and Hermione turned to look at her new friend. "So, what do you think you're going to do about him anyways?"

Lily furrowed her brow slightly and chewed on her lip. "I thought about it a lot last night, and I think I'm going to be mature about this and talk to him today."

"Great!" Hermione exclaimed. "I'm so glad that we're civilized enough to have these sorts of-" Hermione immediately broke off her sentence as they entered the hall. Lily paled instantly, but Hermione turned a bright shade of red.

Perched indelicately on James Potter's lap was none other than Iris Brown. Hermione growled. "That one sure gets around, doesn't she?"

A hush fell over the hall as the students turned to see what Lily's reaction would be. Hermione quickly glanced over at her out of the corner of her eye and saw tears begin to pool in Lily's beautiful green eyes. Hermione turned back towards James, glaring. He was currently feeding Iris strawberries, and the young lady in question was giggling like crazy and saying things like, "Oh James, you're so funny!" James was staring at her adoringly, as if he had never known that Lily Potter existed. And Remus, who was sitting on the far side of James Potter, seemed to be knocking his head slowly and repeatedly against the table.

Sitting across from the table was none other than Sirius Black. His eyes were flickering back and forth between Lily and James, a smug expression on his face. Hermione growled again. Of course, this had to have been his idea.

Hermione turned back towards Lily, who was blinking furiously. She spied movement out of the corner of her eye and saw Dumbledore approaching them.

"Good morning, Ms. Delacourt, Ms. Evans. Ms. Delacourt, I trust that you are feeling more well-rested?"

Snapping out of her glare, she turned towards Dumbledore and nodded. "Yes, thank you very much Professor."

"Excellent!" Dumbledore clapped his hands together. "Ms. Evans, I know that you must be longing to join your fellow Gryffindors, but I'm afraid I have some important matters I need to speak to you about before classes this morning. Will you please meet me in my office?"

Exhaling quickly, Lily nodded and turned towards Hermione. "I'll see you in class?"

Hermione nodded. "Of course! Have a good meeting!" With one last look at the table, Lily turned around abruptly and headed back out the hallway.

Hermione started to head towards the table, but Dumbledore caught her arm. "Ms. Delacourt, since it is your first day here, I thought it would be best to give you this." He held out a golden bracelet that looked identical to the snitch Harry caught his first year – it had the dent and everything. "The bracelet is infused with a Confundus charm of my own design. It should make sure that no one here sees what they shouldn't."

Her breath caught in her throat. "Thank you, Professor! I hadn't even thought of that."

Dumbledore smiled, his eyes twinkling. "It is my pleasure, Ms. Delacourt. And it should hopefully serve to remind you of those you love. I often find that in the darkest of times, our brightest memories help us find the right path."

With a wink, Dumbledore swept out of the hall. Hermione quickly fastened the bracelet onto her small wrist, grateful to have a physical reminder of her friends back home. She chuckled inwardly. The amount of jewelry I've amassed in two days is ridiculous. Imagine what Lavender would –

The thought of Lavender made Hermione growl again. She had almost forgotten about Iris. She glanced back towards the table and saw Iris still perched on James' lap. James, however, looked much unhappier than he did a few minutes ago. Sirius, she noted, still had that smug look on his face.

Hermione growled and straightened her back. Well, as long as I'm here fixing everything else… She quickly stalked over to the Gryffindor table, ignoring the few whistles aimed towards her as her skirt flounced almost indecently in the breeze.

Clearing her throat, the eyes of the infamous quartet were suddenly glued to her. She shot them her most sickening grin and turned her gaze towards James.

"I'm so sorry to bother you, but Professor Dumbledore said you would be able to show me the way towards the Potions classroom? I'm supposed to get there early but Lily has been called away on important Head Girl business." With that last sentence she shot a hard look at Iris Brown, who gulped loudly.

James Potter, who was staring at her with his mouth slightly open, was only jostled from his reverie when Remus punched him squarely in the shoulder. "Oh, of course, let me just grab my things!"

"Thank you," Hermione simpered, and she watched amused as James hurriedly stuffed his belongings into his bag and shoved Iris off of his lap.

"Ahem." Hermione grimaced inwardly and turned to face Sirius, who was gazing at her intently. He threw his arms behind his head and leaned back, smirking.

"So, new girl. Like what you see?" He asked, daring her to break eye contact.

Hermione plastered a small smile on her face. "And what is it I should be looking at?"

"Why, your future, sweetheart! I give it two weeks before you can't resist me."

Hermione clenched her fists in anger, and before she could stop herself, she had thrown the contents of James' mug across the table, completely drenching Sirius Black.

Silence suddenly descended on the Gryffindor table. Hermione swore she could even feel the sound of oatmeal falling out of someone's mouth.

Smirking, she leaned across the table and pulled Sirius' face until it was three inches away from her. "Challenge accepted, sweetheart."

Releasing his face, she softly smacked his cheek. "Come on, James, I have to meet with the Professor and I don't want to be late!"

Grasping James' arm firmly, she dragged him indelicately out of the Great Hall to the sound of applause coming from several of the young men. She turned back briefly just in time to see Remus rolling on the ground in laughter while Sirius glared at him, an unnatural shade of red. Hermione grinned and pulled James along even harder.

Sputtering indignantly, he tried stopping her, to no avail. When they had finally descended down the main staircase, Hermione turned around and smacked him on the arm with her books.

"Ow! What the hell was that for?" he hollered, rubbing his arm gingerly.

Hermione groaned. "James Potter, you are the world's biggest idiot. Do you love Lily?" she finished, glaring at him.

Stunned, James Potter stared at her open-mouthed again. She sighed. "James. Do. You. Love. Lily?"

"Yes," he finally replied, after a few moments. "Of course I do."

"Then why on earth would you act the way you've been acting? You know Lily! You've known her for years! You know how sensitive she is and how hard she's worked to earn the respect she has! Lily Evans is not some dumb blonde that will sit and giggle on your lap and flatter your ego! She is an incredible woman, and if you want to be with her, you need to grow up and be a man."

James just continued to stare at her. "How-"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "I may only have known her for one day, but I'm not dumb. I can already tell what an amazing person she is, and she deserves someone who treats her like the gift she is! And for whatever reason, she likes you."

"She likes me?" James asked quietly.

"Of course!" Hermione exploded. "You know she does! So stop being a bloody idiot and go talk to her!"

James nodded quickly. "You're right."

Hermione snorted. "Of course I'm right." Then grinning softly, she looked at James. "I may not know you very well, but I've got a good feeling about you James Potter."

Looking in her eyes, he grinned. "I've got a good feeling about you too, Mya Delacourt."

Hermione grinned brightly, and turned towards the classroom. "I'm fairly certain that if you wait here, Lily will be along any minute. We have every class together."

James smiled. "Thanks, Mya."

"Oh, and James?" Hermione added as she started to walk away. "Don't listen to any advice Black gives you. If anything, you should be advising him."

James laughed loudly in response, but quickly grew silent as he saw Lily walking towards him down the hall. "Wish me luck!" He whispered loudly towards Hermione. She saw him quickly run over towards Lily and pull her into a corner, after some resistance. Hermione couldn't see what they were saying, but she turned and headed into the classroom, confident that it would work out.

"Ah, you must be Ms. Delacourt!" Hermione turned and saw a younger Professor Slughorn smiling at her from the front of the classroom. "Dumbledore has told me that you are a very promising student in Potions!"

Hermione groaned inwardly but shot him her brightest smile nonetheless. "Professor Dumbledore is too kind, but Potions has always been a favorite of mine."

Slughorn clapped his hand together excitedly. "I am so please to hear that! Now, Dumbledore seemed confident that you would be able to handle Advanced Potions, but if for some reason you find it to be too difficult, do not hesitate to ask to move to a different class, there is no shame in that!"

Hermione bit back a laugh. "Of course, Professor. I certainly hope that is not the case."

Slughorn smiled widely. "I have a good feeling about you, Ms. Delacourt," he said, moving towards his desk. "Ah, it seems that some of your classmates have finally joined us!"

Hermione turned around in time to see Sirius harassing none other than Severus Snape as they entered the room. "You look as terrible as always, Snivellus. Tell me, do you enjoy looking like the undead? You certainly act like it."

"Oh leave him alone, Black," Hermione heard a silky voice answer. "He has more ability in his finger than you do in your entire body." Lucius Malfoy glided into the room, and Hermione turned around and held her hands together to keep them from shaking. She would never forget the horrors at Malfoy Manor, her violent kidnapping, the torture, Snape –

Snape. She sighed inwardly. Breathing deeply, she turned to see Sirius arguing with Lucius Malfoy as Severus snuck past and sat in his seat in the back left corner of the room. Anger, pity, and a sense of loss washed over her, and Hermione walked over purposefully towards his table.

"So, you're Severus Snape?" She asked. The young Snape turned to her, shocked. He nodded slowly, as if she was speaking another language.

Smirking, she sat in the seat next to him, taking note that Lucius and Sirius had stopped arguing and were staring at them. "I've heard you're good at Potions."

Snape snorted, his usual icy demeanor conquering his insecurity. "The best."

Perfect. Snape does his best when he's being challenged. She smiled and dropped her books onto the floor. "We'll see about that."

He scoffed. "Is that a challenge, Ms. Delacourt?"

"Of course it is!" Hermione replied. By this time, the rest of the students had filed in, including a smiling Lily, who sat at the table across the aisle from Hermione next to Remus. Sirius, still staring at Hermione, finally sat down at the table in front of them after Peter practically dragged him over to the chair.

Hermione glanced over to the table in front of her and saw Lucius Malfoy gaze at her, interested. He nodded slightly, glancing over to Severus. Hermione nodded back just as Slughorn's voice echoed across the room.

"Welcome to Advanced Potions! I figure the best way to start off this semester would be with a good brew." Slughorn chuckled to himself, and Hermione rolled her eyes. "Amortentia! You have one hour. Begin!"

The class flew into the action and Hermione turned to look at Snape, who nodded at her.

She smiled. Oh, it's on Professor.

The sixty minutes flew by, and before she knew it Slughorn was walking around and appraising everyone's cauldrons. Most of the students had been able to make a flawed potion, but only Lily, Hermione and Snape had created perfect potions.

"Well done Ms. Delacourt! You have created a perfect potion, and on your first day of class! I expect great things from you," Slughorn had sang. After awarding twenty points each to Lily, Hermione, and Snape, he excused the class. Hermione turned to Snape. "Well done, Severus. I look forward to brewing with you this semester." With a flourish of her fitted robe she turned, looped her arm through Lily's, and exited the class before anyone could stop them.

"So, how did it go? Are you okay? Do I need to hex him?" Hermione peppered the air with questions as they walked to Defense Against the Dark Arts.

Lily smiled softly. "I think we reached an understanding of sorts. We agreed that if James can prove himself to be the mature man he is capable of being, and not have any more episodes before the Hogsmeade trip next month, I will be his date."

Hermione bounced, grinning widely. "Oh, that's great! I'm so glad you're holding him accountable!" She turned to face Lily and put her arms on her shoulders. "You're a gem, Lily Evans, and you deserve only the best."

Lily smiled brightly and hugged Hermione. "I can't believe that I just met you! I feel like we've been friends for years."

Hermione smiled sadly, thinking about Harry. In a way, we have been.

Breaking the hug, Hermione and Lily continued on their walk to the DADA classroom. Lily squealed with laughter when Hermione told her about her encounter with Sirius, and Hermione couldn't help but laugh beside her. That's what they were doing when they walked into the full DADA classroom. All of the Slytherins and Gryffindors were murmuring amongst each other as they crossed the threshold, and Hermione and Lily ignored them, taking their seats near the front of the classroom.

"I am glad to see everyone is here!" Hermione whipped around in her chair to see Professor Dumbledore glide down the aisle. "As you know, Professor Higgins decided to go study the history of the Dark Arts in Romania, and since we were unable to find a suitable replacement, I will be guiding you through this last year."

Hermione had to bite hard on her lip to keep from squealing. Defense of the Dark Arts with Professor Dumbledore? This was a dream come true.

Dumbledore shot her a smile and a wink, as if he could read her mind. Then, he cleared his throat and turned to face the class. "Let's start your final year here on a happy note. Today we will be learning the Patronus charm. Please turn to page fifty seven in your textbook."

The class spent the next half hour learning about the history of the Patronus charm, as well as its application to Defense Against the Dark Arts. Then, Professor Dumbledore had the class create a wide circle around the room, and one by one the students practiced the charm.

Everyone was capable of producing a silvery mist – some more so than others – but no one was able to produce a corporeal Patronus until Lily.

Lily closed her eyes and whispered the charm. The room gasped as a beautiful silver doe erupted from her wand. Hermione's eyes began to tear up. _I_ _have to show this memory to Harry_ , she thought. She glanced over at James, who was near the back of the circle. He was staring at Lily adoringly, and Hermione sighed; they were truly a perfect match.

"Well done!" Dumbledore exclaimed, breaking Hermione from her reverie. His voice also broke Lily's concentration, and the silver doe vanished into thin air. "Producing a Patronus on your first try is no easy feat, Ms. Evans. Twenty points to Gryffindor!"

All of the students in the room began whispering, and Hermione could practically feel the heated glare Narcissa was shooting Lily from the Slytherin side of the room.

"Now, Ms. Delacourt. Last but certainly not least." Hermione turned to him and nodded, and the entire room suddenly fell into silence.

Hermione closed her eyes and the memories of her first Patronus came to mind. When she had first cast the charm, an otter had appeared. As a little girl Hermione loved to swim, so much so that every day during the summer she would rush down to the pool as soon as she could. She would stay and swim around all day, and she only left when her father picked her up after he returned from work. "My little otter," he would say, and he would wrap her up in a towel and carry her home in his arms.

That, of course, was before the magic, before Harry, and before the horrors of Malfoy Manor. Her exposure to the Cruciatus curse, Bellatrix's cursed knife, and her nightmares of Snape laying dead in her arms had seemingly robbed Hermione of all of her joy. When Fleur had asked her if she could produce a Patronus, to see if she could gauge how deeply the wounds ran, Hermione had been unable to.

She remembered the moment it happened exactly. Hermione had whispered the charm, and nothing happened. She tried again, focusing on the memory with her father, but again, nothing. It was at that moment that she had burst into tears, and Sirius Black had declared that they needed a holiday. The very next day the rest of the Order arrived, along with Hermione's friends from Hogwarts, and the company trekked down to the beach near Shell Cottage They spent the day frolicking on the sand. Hermione had taught Harry and the Weasleys how to play volleyball, and Fred and George had spent most of the time trying to prevent Ginny from scoring – she was a natural at the game. Hermione would have been content to just sit on the beach and watch the ocean, but Sirius would have none of it. He shifted into Padfoot, ran into the ocean, and ran back, shaking all of the cool water off onto Hermione. She had then chased him into the water, and she spent the rest of the day alternating between chasing Padfoot through the waves and squaring off against the boys at Volleyball. Hermione didn't think she had ever smiled so much in her life.

The following day, after the Order had left, Fleur asked her again to produce a Patronus. This time, she focused on the memory of her day at the beach, and it worked. It was the most powerful Patronus Hermione had ever cast. However, it no longer took the shape of an otter. Fleur had just smiled, saying how glad she was that she found a new joyful memory, and a few days later Hermione returned to the Burrow.

Focusing intently on the memory of her day at the beach, Hermione let the joy she felt bubble over.

"Expecto Patronum."

Bright light shot out of her wand, and she heard the class gasp. She opened her eyes to see a silvery Padfoot glide across the room. She chuckled as it leaped through the air, ran circles around Lucius Malfoy, and came to a sudden stop in front of Sirius and the other Marauders.

Hermione felt her face immediately flush. Oops. She hadn't thought how she would explain that. Her Sirius, the future Sirius, was overjoyed that he was a Patronus – in fact, he didn't stop bragging until Remus cast a Bat Bogey hex at him. This Sirius, however….

Hermione glanced quickly at the Marauders. James, Peter, and Sirius were staring at the silvery Padfoot in shock as he leapt up at Sirius, silently barking, as if he recognized his human form. Remus was looking at Hermione thoughtfully. She glanced at Lily out of the corner of her eye, and she could see Lily was looking at the Patronus curiously too.

Hermione closed her eyes, thoughts racing through her head. _How am I going to explain this?_

 _Easy_ , her brain replied. _You won't._

She smirked, opened her eyes and whistled softly. Padfoot stopped jumping at Sirius and turned to look at her.

"Paddy, come here," she commanded, and the Patronus raced across the floor to her. She knelt down and began to scratch him under his chin, the ticklish breeze of the magic whirling around her fingers. "You're such a good boy! And so handsome, yes you are!" She spoke in her voice only reserved for pets. The class broke out into laughter, and Hermione smiled widely.

"Beautiful Patronus, Ms. Delacourt! Twenty points!" Dumbledore bellowed. Hermione gave Padfoot one last scratch, and then he turned around, disappearing into thin air.

She stood and turned to look at Dumbledore, who was smiling. "Class is dismissed! And, Ms. Delacourt," he added, as the students began gathering their things, "I look forward to our meeting this evening. Seven o'clock."

 _When did we agree to meet at seven o'clock? No matter, I'll be there anyways._ He sent another wink her way and glided quickly out the door. Hermione felt Lily's arm grab her, and she turned. "Mya! That was amazing! How did you learn to do that?"

Hermione smiled sadly. "A mentor of mine taught me. He passed soon after."

Lily pulled Hermione into her arms and gave her a tight hug. "I'm so sorry to hear that. But what an amazing gift!"

Hermione smiled. "He was a great teacher." She glanced at the door and saw Snape leave the classroom with Lucius Malfoy. Sadness stole over her heart, and a lone tear travelled down her face.

"Excuse me, Mya?" Hermione quickly wiped the tear away from her face and turning quickly found herself staring a young man in the face who happened to look a lot like Cedric Diggory.

"My name is Finn Diggory, I'm one of the Gryffindor Prefects. Your Patronus charm was amazing. Do you think you'd be willing to help me out with mine?"

 _This must be Amos' brother,_ Hermione thought. _Good looks certainly run in the family!_

Finn was a tall, muscular young man with curly brown hair and piercing hazel eyes. A wide grin was spread across his face, and Hermione couldn't help but smile back.

"It would be my pleasure," she replied demurely. Finn grinned even wider. He turned to gaze at Hermione and Lily.

"May I escort you lovely ladies to the Great Hall for luncheon?"

"Why of course, Mr. Diggory." Hermione took his left arm, Lily took his right, and the trio chatted about the House Cup on the way out of the classroom.

Sirius Black stared at the retreating figure of the beautiful exchange student, shocked. Padfoot, his Padfoot, was her Patronus.

"Maybe it's just a dog that looked like you?" Peter finally offered, breaking the silence that had fallen over the Marauders.

Sirius shook his head violently. "That was Padfoot. She even called it 'Paddy'!"

"What are the odds it's a coincidence?" James replied.

Remus continued to stare at the spot she had occupied, lost in thought. "I'm not sure what it means exactly, but I'm starting to think there's more to Mya Delacourt than meets the eye."

Peter shivered. "Do you think she's one of them? That she was sent by-"

"No," James said vehemently, cutting him off. "There's no way. We would have sensed it by now."

"And she seems to be a favorite of Dumbledore," Remus added. "If anything, I think she will prove to be a valuable asset."

"Especially if Padfoot here stops being such an ass!" James said, laughing.

Sirius groaned. "My material has worked on every other girl here in the past!"

"Mya isn't just some other girl, Black. She's a lot like Lily, so I highly doubt she'd be interested in your sort of "friendship."" James replied, watching his friend closely.

"There's just something about her… And now her Patronus?" Sirius remarked, ignoring James' previous marks.

Remus chuckled, slapping Sirius on the back. "Be careful, Sirius! You certainly don't want to develop feelings for this girl."

Sirius snorted. "Me? Feelings? No way."

James shot Remus a knowing look, and the four began to leave the classroom. They walked silently towards the Great Hall, each trying to figure out why Mya's Patronus was Padfoot. When they entered the Great Hall, they were greeted by the ringing sound of Mya and Lily's laughter as they sat across from Finn Diggory, who was smiling brightly at Mya.

Sirius growled, and James leaned over to whisper in Remus' ear. "No feelings, my ass."


	6. Chapter 6

The rest of the day flew by in a blur. Hermione spent the remaining classes alternating between sitting next to Lily and Finn, and before she knew it they were back in the Great Hall eating dinner. Finn told Hermione all about Lily's failed attempts to play Quidditch, and Lily teased him mercilessly about his inability to brew potions. Hermione was crying from laughter over Lily's tale of how Finn accidentally turned Snape pink when she felt a sudden presence plop down next to her. She quickly turned to find none other than Sirius Black sitting much closer to her than was proper for mere acquaintances. James, on the other hand, threw his arm around Lily as he sat down, loudly announcing his arrival. He smiled warmly at Lily, asked how her day was, and then began discussing Arithmancy with Remus, who sat on his left. Sirius, on the other hand, completely ignored Hermione's existence.

As the meal continued, Hermione conversed solely with Lily and Finn – and James, who would chime in every once in awhile. Sirius didn't look at her or acknowledge her once. He would occasionally shoot a biting remark Finn's way, but other than that he seemed uninterested in their conversation.

Hermione's temper boiled. The very least he could do is say hello! She stewed quietly and ate her food quickly, allowing herself to be distracted from her very angry thoughts by a very animated Finn Diggory, who only grew more animated the more Hermione and Sirius ignored each other.

They had just finished eating the chocolate mousse when a shadow fell over Hermione's shoulder. She turned and saw Dumbledore's smiling face.

"Ms. Delacourt, it seems I have mistakenly double booked myself for this evening. If you are willing to accompany me now, we should have enough time to finish our discussion."

Hermione nodded quickly. "Of course Professor." She turned to Lily, smiled, and with an emphatic "I'll meet you back in our tower!" she walked away from the table as fast as she could. For an old guy, Dumbledore could certainly walk quickly.

What she didn't see was the look Lily shot Sirius as he watched Hermione's retreating figure, or the glare Finn and Sirius shared with each other that was only finally broken up by James throwing an apple at Sirius' head.

Hermione raced down the hall and up the swirling staircase into Dumbledore's office. He began speaking as they entered and headed towards his desk.

"I apologize for the deception around your friends, Ms. Gran – Delacourt, but I thought of a few things in class this morning that we needed to discuss at the earliest opportunity. First off," he began, sinking down into the massive red armchair behind his desk, "I think it would be best if you stayed away from the books in the restricted section for the first month or so. Establish yourself as a studious individual first; then, when you do begin to spend time there, nobody will question it. In the meantime you are welcome to use any books from my personal library. In fact, Gawain transported most of the books that I think will be the most helpful to your search to your quarters earlier this morning.

Secondly, you must do your best to befriend everyone, regardless of what they will be in the future. I have seen your hesitation around a certain Mr. Pettigrew, which I'm sure is well-founded, but you must remember that he is not the person you know him to be yet. And you won't be able to save him, my dear. I'm creating a charm that will wipe the student's memory of you once you leave – well, most of the students will not remember you. Their memories of you will return when you are back in your own time, but for your safety and for the safety of our future you must be forgotten. Do you understand?"

"Of course," Hermione replied, "but to create that charm requires so much magic. It's impossible – "

Dumbledore winked. "We are all capable of accomplishing the impossible, Ms. Delacourt; it's only a matter of whether or not you have the heart to try. Now, if you will excuse me, I must speak with the Gryffindor and Slytherin prefects. Apparently, a select group of Gryffindors set pixies loose in the Slytherin commons, and I'd like to start the year off without any expulsions."

Hermione chuckled. "Of course, Professor. And thank you for the advice and the books! I plan on getting started as soon as I return to the tower."

Dumbledore smiled brightly. "I wouldn't expect any less."

With that, Hermione stood up, turned on her heel and skipped out the door.

The events of Tuesday were very similar to the events of Monday. Hermione sat with Lily in most of her classes, Finn continued to entertain them during dinner, and Sirius ate all of his meals right next to her and ignored her the whole time. But not even Sirius' rude behavior could keep Hermione's spirits low. In fact, Wednesday was proving to be just as predictable and carefree as her first two days of class. That is, until she arrived at Defense Against the Dark Arts.

Taking her seat at the front of the class, Hermione peered up at the board and felt her stomach drop.

"Boggarts," she whispered.

"Did you say something?" Lily asked, fishing her parchment out of her expandable bag.

Hermione cleared her throat. "We're working with Boggarts today."

Lily looked thoughtfully at the blackboard. "Have you heard of them?"

Hermione barked out a harsh laugh. "You could say that." She pulled out her notes from the previous lesson and read through them, expecting Dumbledore to sweep through the doors and interrupt her any second. Except he didn't.

The quiet chatter of the students began to crescendo as time crept by. Fifteen minutes had gone by and the class was in chaos. Finally, Lucius Malfoy whistled, hopped out of his spot and strutted to the front of the class.

"Well, since the old coot hasn't graced us with his presence yet, it is only fitting that the most responsible student here begins the lesson for him."

James heckled him from the back. "You mean Lily, right?"

Lily blushed furiously, but Lucius just tossed his head back defiantly. "I mean me, Mr. Potter."

Hermione groaned and set her face in her hands, and Lily began to protest. "Lucius, really, I don't think this is a good idea! Besides, we don't even know what a Boggart is or how to fight it – "

"Relax, Mudblood. Besides, the chest isn't even locked. If it was locked, it would be something we would have to worry about." Lucius paraded around the front of the room, making a spectacle of himself as he threw open the familiar wooden chest.

"Malfoy! Don't!" Hermione yelled, but it was too late. A black mist poured out of the box, quickly assuming a bipedal form. Startled, Lucius jumped back, and the Boggart began to advance. The Boggart began to morph from its misty form as it walked slowly towards Lucius.

Lucius gasped, paling instantly. "It can't be." Hermione stared in horror at the shifting black form, praying that Malfoy's Boggart wasn't what she dreaded it was. Her prayers were not answered. Red eyes opened, shining out of the blackness, and Hermione moved without thinking.

"Malfoy, move!" She ordered as she leapt out of her chair. Lucius was frozen in his spot, unintelligible whispers escaping from his lips as the Boggart slowly took on the form of the Dark Lord.

With all of the strength she could muster, Hermione pushed Lucius Malfoy out of the way and stood directly in front of the Boggart, who began to change almost instantly. The red eyes faded into an inky blackness, and Hermione felt her bracelet burn with the magic of Dumbledore's Confundus charm. The other students in the class saw a silhouette of a woman in black, but Hermione recognized her Boggart immediately: Bellatrix Lestrange.

Blood began pounding through her veins, and her breathing began to become shallow. Her lips tried to form the words she needed, but no sound came out. She had just managed a whisper when the menacing figure cried out in a gravelly voice.

"Crucio!"

And with a scream of anguish Hermione sank onto the ground. She could feel the Cruciatus curse ripping throughout her body, and her mind was transported back to that night at Malfoy Manor.

She saw Bellatrix standing over her, casting curse after curse, wickedness distorting her face. She saw Narcissa and Lucius staring at her, stony-faced, and she saw Draco Malfoy pale the longer she screamed. She saw Voldemort himself, cackling with glee as Hermione's blood painted the floor. And finally, she saw Severus Snape staring at her with compassion in his eyes, but he made no moves to help. She felt the curses ravage her body, tearing her skin until it pulled itself apart. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Hermione knew that this wasn't real, that it was just a dream. But even that couldn't stop her screams.

As Hermione was trapped in the trauma of her mind, the class had erupted into chaos. Remus was frantically flipping through his textbooks, trying to learn how to stop a Boggart. Sirius was casting all of the hexes he knew, but none of them deterred the monster from its prey. Lily had begun sprinting towards Hermione frantically as soon as she fell, but James had grabbed hold of her and held her back, trying to keep her from becoming the creature's next target. Straining against him, Lily shouted at Lucius to do something, but Lucius was frozen. All he could do was stare at Hermione as she writhed in pain on the floor, horror in his eyes.

A loud bang! at the door momentarily distracted the Boggart. It glanced up from Hermione just as Dumbledore's "Riddikulus" hit it square in the chest and sent it straight back into its box. Muttering, Dumbledore quickly conjured up a lock for the door, pushed Sirius and James to the side and ran straight towards Hermione.

Reaching Hermione's side, he knelt down on the floor. Hermione foggily registered that the pain had stopped, but she couldn't stop one word from issuing from her lips.

"Please," she whimpered. Dumbledore shushed her. "Quiet, Mya dear. You are safe. Do you understand me? You are safe.

"Tunie!" He barked. With a crack the shivering house elf appeared. As soon as she saw Hermione shaking on the floor tears began to stream down her face. "I need you to take Ms. Delacourt back to her tower. Once you are there, summon Madame Pomfrey and Professor Slughorn. Tell them it was the Cruciatus curse, they will know what to do from there. I will follow shortly."

Tunie nodded, tears continuing to fall. She padded over to Hermione slowly and took Hermione's hand in her own, wincing as she whimpered in pain. "I'm so sorry Ms. Mya. This is going to hurt, but it will be over soon." With a crack she apparated away with Hermione's writhing form, Hermione's weak cry echoing throughout the room.

Dumbledore stared blankly at the ground. Sighing, he looked up at the students facing him.

Shock was written all over their faces. Lily Evans was sobbing uncontrollably into James Potter's arms. Narcissa had her arms wrapped around Severus, who had an unreadable expression on his face. Many of the other students were also crying, and the sound of their sobs broke Dumbledore's heart. He didn't have much time to think about it, however, because as soon as Hermione had disappeared Sirius Black had begun running towards Lucius Malfoy, rage painted on his face.

"Mr. Black," Dumbledore quickly stood up. However, his warning was a little too late, because by the time the words had left his lips Sirius' fist connected with Lucius' nose. Lucius cried out in pain, and Sirius prepared to throw another punch, but Dumbledore grabbed him roughly and threw him to the side.

"Let me handle this, Mr. Black." Dumbledore whispered lethally. Shaking, Sirius stepped back, and only returned to his seat after Dumbledore glared at him long enough. Satisfied Sirius couldn't do any more harm, Dumbledore turned to face Lucius.

"What. Were. You. THINKING?" Dumbledore roared. The students gasped. They had never heard their professor so angry before.

Lucius shook like a leaf under his gaze. "You hadn't shown, and – "

"So you thought that gave you permission to unleash that creature? I should have you expelled! What on earth did you see, that would have made Ms. Delacourt subject herself to the Boggarts torment knowing that this might have happened?"

Dumbledore studied Lucius' face. The already pale face turned even whiter, and a small whimper left his lips. He didn't need his legilimancy to know that Lucius Malfoy's Boggart was the Dark Lord himself.

Dumbledore turned away from Lucius, closed his eyes and began to massage his temples. After a few minutes, he turned back, staring into his eyes. "You realize the sacrifice Ms. Delacourt made for you, do you not?"

Dumbledore growled. "Three months worth of detentions with Mr. Filch, you are hereby suspended from the Quidditch team, and if you cause harm to any other student here, directly or indirectly, you will be expelled immediately with no possibility of re-enrollment. Do I make myself clear?"

Lucius swallowed loudly. "Crystal."

"Good." Dumbledore began walking towards the door. "Believe it or not, I was in the middle of a meeting with your father and the Minister of Magic when I was alerted to a disturbance in this room. Being seventh years, I had hoped you all were mature to leave such things left alone and wait for your Professor to arrive." He turned back towards Lucius, glaring at him. "Apparently, I was wrong. Don't worry Mr. Malfoy, your father will be hearing about this immediately."

Dumbledore then focused his glare on every member of the classroom. "If I catch word of anyone outside of this room speaking of what has occurred, it will be grounds for expulsion. Understood?" The class nodded sullenly.

"Class is dismissed."

The Slytherin students, including Lucius Malfoy, quickly made a silent exit, Narcissa wailing into the arms of Lucius Malfoy while Severus glared at his head. The door closed behind the last Slytherin student, and Dumbledore turned back to see that none of the Gryffindor students had moved. They were all staring at Dumbledore, and he could see many of them had silent tears streaming down their faces.

"Professor," Lily finally asked in a whisper. "What happened to Mya?"

Dumbledore sighed and turned to face the class, defeated. "There is a reason the Cruciatus curse is unforgivable. The body usually begins to shut down after four hours of continuous torture, the mind shatters after eight and death is common after twelve.

Your housemate, Ms. Delacourt, was under the influence of the curse for sixteen hours."

The already heavy silence in the classroom somehow grew heavier. Dumbledore saw Lily's knees give out from under her, just in time for James to catch her. Sirius fell back against a wall, as if unconscious, Remus was as pale as a ghost, and Finn's fists were clenched whiter than deemed possible, the expression on his face unreadable.

The class was silent again, this time for what seemed like an hour. Dumbledore finally cleared his throat and shot a kind gaze at Lily. "Ms. Evans, I will write you a note excusing you from class for the rest of the day. I would feel better knowing someone is there to keep an eye on Ms. Delacourt today. And please let Madame Pompfrey know that I will be following you shortly." Lily jumped off of James' lap, wiped her tears away, nodded resolutely and raced past Dumbledore out the door.

He began to leave when James Potter interrupted him. "Professor, is there something we can do? How long will she be like that?"

He smiled sadly. "Thankfully, Mr. Potter, a Boggart is not capable of casting the actual curse. As far as I know it is only capable of sending the mind and body back to the moment when it occurred. Ms. Delacourt should be able to leave the Tower in a few days, which should coincide with the first Quidditch game of the season, to be exact."

He shot a small smile at James. "I find that nothing quite heals pain and suffering like joy and companionship. And," he added, turning around and winking, "please make sure to cast muffling charms." With those final words, Dumbledore stole out of the classroom and made his way to the Head Girl tower.

The Gryffindor students continued to stand there for awhile, lost in their thoughts. James cleared his throat, finally breaking everyone from their reveries. "If I didn't know any better, I would think Dumbledore just gave us permission to throw a party."

A small smile tugged at Sirius Black. "Why, Mr. Potter, I think that's a fabulous idea."

James smiled softly. "If Mya is anything like Lily, then she won't want a huge shindig."

"A low key get together," Remus nodded in agreement. "We'll all be exhausted from the game anyways, and I think it would be best if she didn't overdo it at all. I like the sound of that."

"Me too. So, who's in?" Sirius asked, leaping up from his spot near the window.

"I am," Finn Diggory declared stepping forward.

"Me too," added Peter Pettigrew.

"And me!" Iris Brown sang.

The rest of the students joined in the chorus, their conversation growing louder and louder until it drowned out Sirius' voice. James whistled loudly, effectively silencing all of the conversation in the hall. "All right, you know the drill. Decorating committee, report to Iris. Concealment charm, Remus. Food and beverages, Finn. Entertainment, Sirius. Any other questions, concerns, or ideas can come straight to me. And I want to keep this a surprise, so be vigilant around Mya once she's up and walking again."

"Okay then!" He said smiling, rubbing his hands together. "Let's plan a party!"


	7. Chapter 7

Hermione was only slightly conscious by the time Petunia had transported her back to the tower. Her knees hit the cold, hard floor, and she suddenly felt the sensation of bile rising up her throat, and before she knew it she was emptying the contents of her stomach onto the cold stone floor. Once she had finished expelling the last of it, she heard a faint sigh and felt a wave of magic run through her mouth as Madam Pomfrey murmured a cleaning charm. She felt warm, soft robes envelope her spasming limbs and by the time her head touched the pillow she had lost consciousness.

It was nighttime when Hermione finally opened her eyes. Turning her head, she groaned as a wave of pain raced across her muscles. Gritting her teeth, she lifted her head up just in time to see big blue eyes staring back into hers.

She tried to shriek, but only a scratchy whimper escaped her throat. With a soft "Lumos," Hermione realized that the eyes belong to none other than Petunia, who somehow managed to look terrified and overjoyed at the same time.

"Oh Ms. Mya! I am so glad you are okay. Headmaster said I could stay and take care of you until you woke up. Ms. Evans was here for awhile too, but I finally sent her to bed."

Hermione smiled weakly at the small elf. She yawned and tried to sit up again. "What time is it, Tunie?"

"It's just after midnight on Thursday evening, Miss. You've been sleeping for over a day now. Madam Pomfrey said that Ms. Mya would need all the sleep she could get, and that when she wakes up to give her this medicine. It will help Ms. Mya heal. Madam Pomfrey says Ms. Mya should be right as rain within a week." Tunie replied matter-of-factly. Hermione just groaned in reply, sinking back onto the pillow. She should have expected this. Last time, it took her over a month to fully recover, and even though this was just a boggart and the effects shouldn't be as damaging, of course it would take her time.

Tunie snapped her fingers and a bottle filled with golden liquid appeared. "Now, drink this Ms. Mya." Hermione raised her head enough to sip down the golden liquid, and frown in disgust as the rancid liquid swam down her throat.

"Ugh!" She cleared her throat loudly. "How can something that looks so beautiful taste so terrible?"

Tunie just chuckled. "Rose root and phoenix tears, Madam Pomfrey said. A potion of her own making, Tunie thinks. Tunie has seen it help others, a long time ago." Petunia paused, and Hermione saw unshed tears peek out of the house elf's eyes. Petunia had surely been around when He was – Hermione shuddered inwardly. Smiling softly, she took Petunia's hand and held it in her own.

"Thank you for taking such good care of me, Tunie. You are a wonderful friend." Hermione smiled brightly at the elf, laid her head back on her pillow, and fell instantly asleep. Petunia blushed until she was as pink as her name and then quickly disapparated away to tell Dumbledore the good news.

After what seemed like no time at all, Hermione awoke from her dreamless sleep to see sun shining through the pillows. She stretched and felt the familiar tremors of pain, though somewhat duller, race throughout her body. She slowly moved to sit up and heard a loud "Hoot!" as Gawain swept into the room. He landed on the dresser in front of Hermione and cocked his head at her, as if questioning her decision to leave her bed.

Hermione chuckled. "It's good to see you too, Gawain." With another hoot he flew off the dresser, landed next to her on the bed and burrowed his head under her arm until she was scratching his head. Hermione continued to run her fingers through his feathers until she felt enough strength return to her legs. She stood up and slowly walked into her bathroom.

After relieving herself, she glanced in the mirror as she washed her hands and winced. Sweat had matted her hair down onto her head, and she could see dirt and blood all over her body. As if he heard her thoughts, Gawain swept into the room and dropped her wand onto the sink next to her, and abruptly turned around and made his exit.

"My knight in shining armor!" Hermione called out. Gawain hooted in reply, and Hermione laughed for the first time in what felt like a very long time. With a flick of her wand she summoned a warm bath and began the tedious process of cleaning her hair with magic. By the time the bath was full her hair looked as good as news, and she settled down slowly into the hot water, sighing in relief as the warmth flooded her weary, still spasming muscles. In fact, she was so comfortable that she would have fallen asleep right there if Gawain hadn't flown in and dropped her expanding bag onto her lap.

"Gawain! You almost got my things wet!" She called out, but the owl had wisely left the room as quickly as he had entered. Shaking her head, she looked through the beaded bag and selected two of the other pieces of clothing McGonagall had sent along with her: a pair of black leggings and the cranberry color sweater Mrs. Weasley had knitted Harry which Hermione had stolen. It was big enough on her that it fitted her like a dress, and the familiar smell of her best friend was very comforting.

Soon afterwards Hermione finished cleaning up in the bathroom, got dressed, grabbed the fleece blanket from her bed and stumbled into the common room on week legs. She glanced up at the portrait of Elvis as she entered and noticed that he was sitting rather dejectedly on a chair, staring sadly at his guitar. Before should could address him, he looked up at her, smiled brightly and shouted towards the door, "Hey Brimble! She's awake!"

"She's awake?" She heard Lord William call from outside the door. His exclamation was followed by a great crash, the sound of a cat screeching, and several loud footsteps until suddenly the Professor appeared next to Elvis in the portrait above the fireplace.

"Ms. Mya! I am so glad to see you're awake! We were quite worried about you – well, Ms. Evans was quite worried about you, but I knew you'd get through it, no problem. The Cruciatus curse, quite nasty business, but if anyone can beat it, it's you my dear!" He practically sang. Hermione fought back a shudder at the mention of the curse and instead smiled at the two men in the portrait.

"Thank you so much for your belief in me, William. I hope I'm worthy of it someday," she said in reply. Brimble just shook his head. "You already are my dear. But shouldn't you be in bed?"

Hermione shook her head. "I've been asleep for almost two days now. I've been through this before, and a change of scenery and getting back to a normal rest schedule is the best thing for me. And I would really appreciate your company. Both of you," Hermione replied, making sure to make eye contact with both men.

Lord William blushed to his feet and Elvis smiled brightly. Hermione plopped down onto the couch, all of her talking making her tired, and she sat and listened to Lord William tell stories about his days in the field. She then asked Elvis to play some acoustic music, and as she listened to him strum on his guitar and softly hum "Spanish Lady" she dozed off. Elvis and Lord Brimble smiled at each other, and Elvis continued to play as she napped. When she finally awoke after an hour of sleeping, she apologized profusely, but the two men would hear nothing of it. Lord William had informed Elvis all about the Cruciatus curse, and while he wasn't completely certain of what had gone on, the king knew she had suffered extreme pain and needed to rest.

Hermione spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening asking Elvis questions about America as she sipped tea from her favorite mug and used her wand to sew magic patches onto the leather jacket she had discovered in her bag. Soon after she had woken up from her nap, Gawain had swept into the room, dropping her beaded bag and Lily's book on fashion onto her lap. At Lord William's suggestion, she had flipped through the book and discovered a page with a charm that would imbue the material with magic so as to help fight muscle tension and pain by sending warm and cold currents alternately throughout the cloth. Hermione had dug through the bag and found a leather jacket she had never seen before. It was a beautiful Gryffindor red with two gold stripes running around the right arm in a circle. After twenty minutes of concentration she was able to successfully cast the spell, to Lord William's excitement. Elvis, on the other hand, declared he wouldn't be satisfied until she "glammed" the jacket up. She had begrudgingly agreed to magically sew Gryffindor patches onto the jacket, and was in the middle of sewing the last patch when the door to the tower flew open.

"MYA!" She heard Lily Potter scream. Hermione jumped, causing her wand, which was floating in the air next to her head, to sew a stitch wildly across the back of the jacket. Gasping, Hermione turned back around, immediately corrected her mistake, and quickly sat her wand down on the coffee table as Lily flew across the room and held Hermione in her arms.

"You're awake! I'm so glad you're awake! I'm so sorry, I stayed with you all of Wednesday and most of Thursday morning, but Dumbledore finally told me that I had to go to class and that I would see you soon enough. And don't worry, it's only Friday, so you didn't miss the first Quidditch game of the year!" She babbled on and on, holding Hermione tightly in her arms this entire time. Hermione, sore from being held so tightly, softly cleared her throat and Lily pulled back. Hermione stared straight into Lily's eyes and was shocked to see tears streaming down her face.

"I know I haven't know you that long, but Merlin! Mya, I was so scared I had lost you! Never do that to me again, okay?" Lily declared pleadingly.

Hermione nodded her head and smiled softly at her newest best friend. "I promise, I won't let that happen again if I can avoid it!"

Lily laughed, brushing her tears aside before throwing her arms around Hermione again. Hermione rubbed her back comfortingly and the two just sat there for awhile. Finally, Lily pulled back for a second time and glanced at the leather jacket on the ground. "So, what were you doing when I came in?"

Hermione groaned. "I found a charm to help relieve muscle pain that you can place on clothing and I thought it would be useful since I want to go to the game tomorrow. However, Elvis said it needed some "pizzazz," Hermione added with air quotes. "So I sewed these patches on."

Lily knelt down and picked up the jacket. She whistled as she turned the soft leather over in her hands. "These look great, Mya! The lion on the arm is especially beautiful. And I love the Gryffindor insignia on the front! But what are these patches on the back? They just look like cloth."

Hermione grinned wickedly. "It's something Elvis told me about. If there's someone on a sports team that you're involved with, it's tradition back in America that the guy would give the girl his jacket to wear. So, if by some miraculous event I were to end up being involved with a Quidditch player, I could charm the patches to read as his last name and jersey number."

Lily squealed. "That's such an amazing idea! Do you mind if I steal it and add it to one of my old Gryffindor sweaters? James would have an absolute fit!" Lily then paused and turned to look at Hermione, a sly expression written across her face. "Is there someone special whose name you want to wear?"

Hermione just laughed again, tossing her wild curls across her shoulder. "Not right now. I'm just going to have it read my own name and the number "7". It was my best friend's number back home."

Lily smiled. "That's James' number! How funny."

Hermione quickly shook her head. "I can change the number, if you'd like – "

"Absolutely not!" Lily added indignantly. "That number means a lot to you. Besides, James has practically adopted you as his sister already. He spent so much time here while you were asleep that Remus had to finally carry him out of here!"

Hermione grinned wickedly again, moving her face just inches away from Lily's. "And how sure are you that he was just here for me?"

Lily blushed wildly, ignoring Hermione's gaze. "He was here for both of us," she replied, tossing her head back. The grandfather clock ringing throughout the tower provided enough of a distraction as Lily whipped her head back around to look at Hermione. "I don't suppose you want to go downstairs for dinner?"

Panic instantly took hold of Hermione's heart. It's too soon, I can't see Lucius yet, it will trigger another anxiety attack –

As if reading her mind, Lily took Hermione's hand in her own and rubbed it comfortingly until Hermione's breathing slowed. "We'll face that tomorrow, how does that sound?"

Hermione sighed in relief. "That works for me."

"Great! So, what are you in the mood for?"

She groaned. "To be honest Lily, nothing sounds good. I could really go for some comfort food, but I have no idea what that would be –"

"May I offer a suggestion?" Elvis asked, breaking in.

"Okay! What is it?" Lily asked.

Elvis shot her a saucy wink. "Miss Petunia?"

Tunie appeared in the tower with a loud pop. "Yes, Mr. Elvis sir?"

"Would you be so kind as to wrangle up a few of those sandwiches I told you about earlier for these lovely ladies?" Elvis asked, shooting Tunie his sweetest grin. Hermione giggled as she watched the house elf turn five different shades of red.

Squeaking in affirmation, she disapparated from the room. "Her name's Petunia? Just like my sister." Lily remarked thoughtfully. She then started to chuckle. "I would much rather have Tunie for a sister."

Hermione grimaced. "She's that bad, huh?"

Lily smirked. "The worst. But since she's a muggle – well, I manage to keep my own." She turned back to face Hermione with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. Hermione grinned widely.

"Tell me everything."

The girls spend the rest of the evening sharing stories, first with each other and then with Lord William and Elvis, who made an appearance once Tunie returned with their dinner. Hermione was a little suspicious of these "sandwiches" that were placed in front of her, but before she knew it she and Lily had devoured all four that Tunie had brought. Hermione thanked Tunie loudly and asked for the recipe, surprised to find out that she didn't know two of the ingredients, and Lily sang the sandwiches' praises to Elvis over and over until he was as red as a beet. Apparently, it was his favorite in life, and once the girls found that out they declared it would be a weekly tradition in the tower.

After their dinner, Lily and Hermione listened to Lord William and Elvis tell stories about their lives for a few more hours. By nine thirty Hermione was yawning loudly, and Lord William insisted that she go off to bed and try to get ten hours of sleep. She grumbled but complied, and as she returned to her room she thanked them all for a lovely evening. As she drifted off to sleep, she heard Elvis serenade them with his acoustic rendition of "Spanish Lady", and Hermione soon fell into a blissful sleep.

The sunlight was just beginning to stream into her room by the time Hermione woke the next morning. Well, the few rays of sunlight that managed to break through the clouds. Casting a quick time telling charm, she saw that it was just after eight in the morning. "Good," she thought. "Everyone will be at breakfast soon, and hopefully by the time I get downstairs most of them will be at the Quidditch pitch."

She sat up in her bed and stretched, relieved to feel some more strength back in her limbs. Gawain, who had been perched watchfully on his tree, began to squawk loudly.

"Hush, Gawain, I'm just fine – " Hermione said as she pushed herself off the bed and immediately collapsed on the floor with a loud crash.

"Mya!" She heard Lily scream. A few seconds later Lily had thrown the door open and was looking at Hermione, who was laid flat on her back, glaring at the owl.

"Mya, are you okay?" Lily rushed over and helped Hermione up into a sitting position.

Hermione groaned. "I'm fine, it's just my pride that's hurt. It seems my muscles need a bit longer to wake up in the morning."

Lily sighed. "Well, take all the time you need. I'm sure Tunie can take us down to the Great Hall so we can avoid the stairs later, and I'm certain there are quite a few Quidditch players who would be more than happy to spend the next week carrying you everywhere."

Hermione groaned again, and Lily laughed brightly. "Come on, Mya! Don't be so serious, it could be fun!"

"Sirius! That's just what I'm afraid of. Falling so quickly for me, Ms. Delacourt? Sweet Merlin, I'll never hear the end of it." Hermione continued to grumble softly in this manner as she stood up and walked over to her closet on shaking feet. Lily, who was already dressed in her newly christened "Potter" sweatshirt, tried her best to look concerned, but in the end only succeeded in chuckling softly as she thought about the fun she would have watching Sirius and Finn this next week.

Twenty minutes and one trip to the bathroom later, Hermione emerged ready for the day. As sore and terrible as she still felt, she had to admit she didn't look half bad. She had found Harry's Gryffindor-colored Weasley sweater at the bottom of her beaded bag, and while she preferred to wear it in all its baggy glory, she charmed it to lay more fittingly so it would fit under the leather jacket. She had found a pair of bell bottom jeans and charmed the bottom until they were more of a boot cut fit. For her hair, she pulled a Gryffindor-themed hair ribbon out of her bag as well and tied it around her head like a headband. Her hair was reveling in its wildly curly glory, and Hermione didn't have the heart or the patience to deal with it.

As soon as Hermione entered the common room, Lily ran over and charmed some make-up on her face, per Hermione's request.

"All right, you ready?" Lily asked.

Hermione nervously spun the ring on her finger. Gryffindor was competing against Slytherin today, and she was terrified of how she would react to seeing Malfoy.

 _No. No more fear. You can do this Hermione_ , she told herself.

Hermione tossed her head back and looked Lily in the eyes. "I'm ready."

Lily smiled knowingly. "Perfect! Tunie?" she called, clapping her hands.

Tunie appeared. "Are you two ready to go downstairs now?"

"Yes, if that is alright with you." Lily replied, smiling.

Tunie blushed. "Hold on!" she called.

The next thing Hermione knew, she was standing outside the Great Hall. Well, she was standing for a moment. As soon as they touched the ground her legs had collapsed from out of under her.

"Not again," Hermione groaned.

"Mya!" Lily said. "Can you get up?"

Hermione pushed herself up into a sitting position, but when she tried to move her legs, nothing would happen. Groaning loudly, she flopped back down on the ground.

"I'm just going to spend the day here. Go have fun without me," she moaned.

She heard footsteps approaching, and before she knew it strong arms had swept her off the ground and she was nestled against the man's chest, black hair hanging in her face.

"Now, now, Princess, what sort of attitude is that?"

"Sirius?" Hermione gasped. She tried to turn and look at his face, but his arms were like cement, and she couldn't wiggle out of their grip.

Sirius walked quickly to the Gryffindor table and sat down, holding her delicately in his lap. "And who else would it be, dearest?"

Hermione was too shocked to say anything. She was sitting on Sirius Black's lap. In the middle of the Great Hall. The last time she had spoken to him she had thrown a mug of who-knows-what in his face. And now she was being held in his arms, on his lap.

She tried to wriggle away again, but he just chuckled a low, throaty chuckle that sent shivers racing through her spine. "Your muscles are too tired to hold you upright on a bench, my dear. Just relax and eat some breakfast."

Sighing, Hermione obeyed. She finally surveyed her surroundings and saw that the Gryffindor table was fully of seventh years who all stared at her worriedly. Lily had placed herself across from Mya, next to James, and Remus was at her left.

"Mya!" She heard Finn call her name. She turned and saw the brawny Gryffindor begin to run towards her from the doors of the Great Hall.

"Ow!" She heard Sirius mutter.

"I'm sorry!" She said, whirling around. "I hit your nose, didn't I?" He just moaned. "And I just did it again, didn't I?"

She chuckled. "I don't want to hear any complaining, Sirius Black. I suspect this is the most action you've gotten in awhile."

"You've got that right!" James laughed.

"Shut it, Potter," Sirius growled darkly, but that just fueled James' laughter more.

"Mya!" Finn had finally reached the table and sat down right next to Sirius, ignoring Sirius' glare. "I'm so glad you're okay! How are you feeling?"

"Fine," Hermione lied. Lily coughed from across the table.

"Okay, fine, I'm not feeling the greatest, and my muscles don't really want to obey me right now, so I can't really walk or hold things properly, but other than that, I'm just peachy." Hermione replied truthfully.

Lines of worry had appeared on Finn's face as she spoke, but at the mention of her not being able to walk a small smile had erupted on his face. Suddenly, he knelt down on the ground and took his hand in hers.

"Ms. Mya Delacourt, I know I've only known you a few weeks, but would you give me the honor of allowing me to carry you around while you heal?"

The wind was knocked out of Hermione as she stared down at this gorgeous man. A blush began to spread through her cheeks, and she was about to reply when Sirius cut in for her.

"No way, Diggory, I got here first!"

Annoyance flitted across Finn's face, and Hermione immediately cut in, turning to face Sirius. "I believe it's my choice, Mr. Black."

Sirius glowered at her darkly, and then shook his hair back from his head. "Yeah, nope."

Hermione growled, then turned back to face Finn. "I would be delighted, Finn."

"You're not going to win this one mate!" James whispered over loudly.

Sirius growled, holding onto Hermione tighter. "Fine. But he doesn't get you all to himself."

"Of course not!" James jumped in. "I want to help carry her around too! So does Remus!" He turned, patting Remus on the back, who coughed and choked on the piece of toast he was eating.

Hermione blushed a bright shade of red. "Really, no one needs to do anything, I'll be quite all right-"

"Nonsense!" James jumped in. "You're our friend, and you've been hurt, so we're going to take care of you, and I don't want to hear any more arguing about it!"

Shocked, Hermione just nodded. "Good!" James grinned. "So, can you please explain to me why your jacket has your name and my number on the back?"

"Yeah," Lily piped in, "And why is there a giant "H" on your sweater?"

"There's a what on your where?" Sirius barked.

Hermione giggled. "Lily and I worked up this jacket and her sweater last night. As you can see, Mr. Potter, Lily's sweater currently sports your last name and Quidditch number."

"What?" James practically shrieked. He leapt off the bench and turned Lily away from him so he could take a better look at her sweater. Hermione began to giggle uncontrollably as James began to beam brilliantly, as if someone just told him that he won a million galleons and now owned the Americas. Lily, for her part, was blushing all over, and when James finally sat down and planted a quick kiss on her cheek, Hermione was certain she was going to melt.

"Okay, so that question's answered," Sirius jumped in. "But what about you, Princess?"

Hermione groaned. "Well, I did the same thing with my jacket, except that mine reads my last name and the number seven."

"Trying to steal me away from Lily, kitten?" James cut in, eyes twinkling with mirth.

An overwhelming sense of sadness came over Hermione, and she just shook her head softly. "It was my best friend's number. His name was Harry. I'm wearing his sweater too."

The surrounding table grew silent. Hermione wiped a single tear off of her cheek. "He's not dead, he's just in hiding. It's been hard, he's always been around. I just miss him, I guess."

The group sat in silence for a few more moments. Lily finally spoke up. "Harry. I like that name."

James nodded in agreement. "It's a nice name."

Joy began to race through Hermione's bloodstream, and before she knew it, a huge smile erupted from her face.

"It is nice, isn't it?" She turned to look at Finn. "Finn, would you mind passing me the toast?"

They spent the next twenty minutes chatting animatedly. Well, everyone except for Sirius. She somehow got the impression that Finn's proposal made him very unhappy – for what reason she wasn't entirely sure, but she could hazard a guess.

Could he have a crush on her? It was too soon to hazard a guess, she finally concluded. She knew how he operated, it was probably just a passing thing. But shutting him down completely would only make things worse, and Hermione was determined to prove to him that regardless of what would happen in his future, he had a reason to live. She had to save him, for himself and for Harry. And a teeny, tiny part of her heart that she hadn't thought about yet wanted to save him for herself, too.

So, right before they stood up to leave, Hermione turned carefully to face Sirius. "You know, Black," she began, "It doesn't really seem right to me to wear James' number, with him and Lily."

Sirius' face broke out into a grin as he scooped her up into his arms, preparing to hand her off to Finn. "I felt the same way, kitten. That's why I changed it as soon as we sat down."

Hermione gasped in shock. "You did what?"

Sirius grinned wickedly at her, and kissed her abruptly on the cheek. "My name's on there too. Just so Diggory doesn't get any ideas."

"Ideas about what?" she shrieked. He quickly threw her into Finn's arms, sent her a saucy wink, and raced out the door. Hermione stared after him, half in shock and half fuming.

Finn, bless his heart, had missed the entire interaction. Iris Brown had engaged him in a conversation about love potions as they were standing up to leave, and as soon as Hermione had been thrust into his arms, Iris ran after Sirius.

Finn just shook his head. "Those two are something else."

Hermione groaned. "You have no idea."

Finn gazed into her eyes, a sunny grin decorating his face. "Now, may I have the honor of escorting the most beautiful lady in Hogwarts to the first Gryffindor match of the season?"

Hermione gigged. Since when do I giggle? She thought. "You may."

And with that, Hermione, Finn, Lily and Remus began the long trek to the Quidditch pitch.

James had run off soon after Sirius had fled the Great Hall. He finally met up with Sirius at the Gryffindor tent. "Sweet Merlin, Black. I didn't know you could run that fast!"

Sirius scoffed. "And that's why you play Quidditch, not track and field."

Still wheezing, James stood up straight and looked Sirius in the eye. "You all right, mate?"

"Of course! Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, the whole Diggory proposing to Mya thing – "

"Oh please," Sirius chortled. "The guy doesn't stand a chance."

"All I'm saying is this, Black. Mya's a nice girl, she's a lot like Lily in that way. And I love you mate, you know I do, but you don't view women as women. You see them as a shiny new toy that you toss aside once you've played with it. I mean, come on, look at Iris Brown!"

Sirius turned to face James, his face white with rage. "What are you saying, Potter?"

James' face began to turn red and he walked over to Sirius, not willing to back down. "That Mya's a nice girl. That she deserves someone who's gonna take care of her. That Diggory has a much better track record than you do."

"God, James, I've known her for a week!"

"And that's my point!" James shouted. "I've never seen you act this way about anyone, ever! And we've only known her a week, less than that! But the way you're acting – "

"Don't finish that sentence, Potter." Sirius spit out. His anger finally breaking, he ran his hands through his hair as he began to pace through the tent. "Don't I know that? But her Patronus. Damnit, I can't get the picture of it out of my head. It's Padfoot. We know it's Padfoot, she knows it Padfoot, and we know she knows it's Padfoot, and she knows that we know that she knows that we know that it's – "

"Okay, okay, I get the picture." James finally broke in, running his hands through his own hair as well. "What are you saying?"

Sirius stood silently, then turned to face James. "This one's different. I don't know how, I don't know in what way, but I know that I want to find out."

James sighed. "So your intent isn't-"

"No." Sirius stated emphatically. "If you never believe anything I say ever again, believe that."

James said nothing for awhile. He just stood there, lost in thought. Finally, a small smile began to creep over his face.

"I can't believe it," he finally said. "Sirius Black has got a crush!"

"Oh, shut up!" Sirius spat. He tried his best to fight the smile that broke through his mock anger, but he couldn't.

James saw the smile as soon as it emerged, and he threw his head back, chortling in glee. He turned to look at Sirius clapping wildly. "Sirius and Mya, sitting in a tree – "

With a roar Sirius pounced on James, and the sight of the two boys wrestling was what greeted Finn and the other Quidditch players when they finally entered the tent.

"Hey, hey, guys, guys, guys! Save it for the field!" Finn yelled, finally pulling James off of Sirius. However, instead of cooperating, James began to tickle Finn, who laughed wildly. Pretty soon the entire Quidditch team was rolling around on the floor, laughing. Finally, Dumbledore walked in and whistled loudly. Immediately the team stood up.

"So, good talk, Captain." James said, nodding at Finn.

Finn nodded back, his cheeks flushed from embarrassment and exertion. "All right team, lets go send those snakes slithering back into their dungeon."

With one final roar the team raced onto the field, and Dumbledore apparated to the teacher's bench. Turning slightly, he saw Hermione sitting with Lily Remus, and he grinned when he saw the name that was stitched across the back of her jacket.

"Albus? Is everything okay?" McGonagall asked. "What are you looking at?"

"Everything is quite all right, Minerva. And to answer your second question, I was looking at hope."

McGonagall looked at Albus puzzled, but knew that he wouldn't illuminate the subject any further.

Casting a quick Sonorous charm, Dumbledore's voice rang out through the Quidditch pitch amongst the screams of the students.

"Let the games begin!"


	8. Chapter 8

Cheers rang out throughout the Quidditch stadium, and Hermione couldn't help but grin from ear to ear.

"Isn't this great?" Remus yelled over the cries of the students.

Hermione nodded. "It looks like everyone is having fun!"

Lily scoffed. "Maybe, but nobody is having as much fun as Peter." She arched her head towards the railing, where Peter was decked out in all of his Gryffindor gear – including his nausea-inducing body paint, Hermione noted – screaming just as loudly as the fourth and fifth year girls who were desperately trying to get the attention of the handsome Gryffindor players.

James waved from his starting position as the Seeker. Finn merely nodded, while Sirius winked and blew dramatic kisses to his adoring fans.

Hermione rolled her eyes. Some things never change.

Madam Hooch flew out to the center of the field, blew her whistle and released the balls. The crowd screamed in delight as Lucius and James began tearing across the court, searching wildly for the seeker. Finn and Sirius seemed to be almost competing against each other, flying at top speed with wild abandon, Hermione noted. She chuckled at poor Sebastian Crabbe in the goal. He didn't stand a chance.

The game was wrapped up within twenty minutes. While the Slytherin chasers were just as good as Gryffindor, Lucius was no match for James, who caught the Snitch "in a record amount of time", Peter kept hollering over and over. Madam Hooch blew her whistle once again, and the match was called. Gryffindor fans ran screaming down the stairs towards the field, and from her seat far up in the stands Hermione could see Iris Brown and her minions Daphne Martinerre and Artemis Wildwood throwing themselves at Sirius and Finn. Iris, Hermione noted, lavished her attention on Sirius when she was sure Finn was watching. James was standing off to the side, talking animatedly with Peter and Remus, who were gesturing wildly about his catch.

Lily, who had sat with Hermione while the other students raced onto the field, turned to look at her. "Do you want to come down with me?"

Hermione looked again at Sirius Black, who was now being tackled by a significant number of fourth and fifth year students, and she felt her stomach clench.

"No thanks," she smiled weakly to Lily. "You go on, though! I'll be here when you're all done."

"Okay!" Lily smiled brightly, and Hermione watched happily as Lily flew down the stairs and into James' arms, who began swinging her around wildly threw the air as he smothered her face with kisses. Hermione could hear Lily's chirps of laughter from the stand, and the sound broke her heart, her thoughts completely centered on Harry.

She sat in the stands for a few more minutes, but the Gryffindor fans and teammates still on the field weren't making any move to leave. Her stubborn spirit coming back in full force, Hermione stood up with a big push, mentally berating herself for waiting around for one of the guys to carry her back. _Get your head in the game, Granger. You aren't some damsel in distress, use that brain of yours!_

Gritting her teeth, she made the slow climb down to the walkway, making sure she took her time so as not to slip. She made her way off the stands onto the hill next to the field. Looking down, she saw that no one had noticed her exit, and she sighed in relief.

"Going somewhere?"

Hermione squeaked and turned, finding herself caught in Severus Snape's curious gaze.

She clutched her heart with her hand. "Oh thank goodness, it's just you Severus."

He smirked. "It could be worse, I suppose. I could be Black."

Hermione chuckled. "You've got that right." She began to walk towards him, and he slowly fell into step next to her.

"You aren't supposed to be walking." He stated.

"Why not?" She snipped. Turning to face him with a loud sigh, her legs suddenly gave out from under her, and she found herself lying on the ground once again. Only this time, it was Snape's amused face staring down at her.

He chuckled. "Because of that, I imagine." He murmured something softly, waved his wand, and scooped her up into his arms as if she weighed nothing more than a quill.

"How-" she started.

"Featherweight charm. Obviously." He quipped back.

"Oh." They remained in silence for some time, and Severus began to walk back towards the castle.

Finally breaking the silence, she cleared her throat. "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why are you helping me?"

Severus sighed, glanced behind him, and started walking with her towards the lake.

"It's not for the company, I assure you," he began.

Hermione shook her head. "I'll pretend you meant that as a complement."

He snorted. "I needed to speak to you."

They spent the next few minutes in silence. Finally, they arrived at a bench near the lake that was hidden from the view of the Quidditch field – and the castle, Hermione noted. Sitting her down gently, he took his place at her side and stared at the expanse of blue water in front of them.

"I need to warn you," he finally began. "Lucius Malfoy, while he seems to be out of commission, is still dangerous. And he will continue to be so."

Hermione nodded. "That doesn't surprise me in the least." She turned to look at Snape, who was watching the lake intently. "But why are you telling me this?"

He sighed loudly, and all at once Hermione knew. Comprehension dawned on her face. "Lily."

A strangled sound escaped his throat and he shook his head at once, trying to pass it off as a cough.

"But why are you telling me? Aside from the obvious, that is."

Snape chuckled harshly. "Some things are forbidden."

Dread filled Hermione's heart, and a cold sweat ran down her back. Her eyes began to fill with tears. "You're one of them, aren't you?"

"And so what if I am?" he shouted. "I've always been a monster. This changes nothing."

"No!" Hermione broke in. "Severus Snape, if there's one thing I know, it's that you are not a monster!"

"And how can you possibly know that?" He snapped, whirling to glare at her face. However, his anger, quickly melted into confusion.

"What do you know?" he gasped desperately. Then, growing angry, he grabbed her wrists and began to shake her violently. "What. Do. You. Know?"

Hermione pulled away and smack him on the arm. "Nothing!"

"I don't believe you!" He roared.

She groaned. _Think, Hermione, there has to be a way to explain this_ – A terrible thought occurred to her. _Merlin, no. Anything but that._ However, seeing it as her only option, she grinded her teeth together and spit out the only words that came to mind.

"I'm a Seer."

That caught him off guard. "What?" He whispered.

"I can't see the future, if that's what you mean. I'm aura-sensitive. And you've got all sorts of wrackspurts flitting around your head right now." _Thank goodness for Luna Lovegood._

He looked at her suspiciously. "I don't believe you."

She shrugged, confidence quickly pouring back into her body. "I don't care what you believe. All I know is, I can read your aura, and you, Severus Snape, are certainly not a monster. I mean, you did it for Lily." She stared into his eyes. "Didn't you?"

Severus hung his head.

Hermione cleared her throat. "I won't tell her, I promise. As long as I'm around, I will keep her safe."

He turned to look up at her, desperation and hope dancing in his eyes. "Promise?"

"I promise," Hermione replied softly. Severus nodded, and turned to stare back at the lake. Hermione did too, pretending she didn't see the tears streaming down her future Potions professor's face.

After some time had passed, Severus cleared his throat. "We should probably get back."

Hermione nodded. "It's probably for the best."

He swung her off of the bench, into his arms, and the resumed their silent walk towards the castle. Well, it would have stayed silent, except Hermione was determined to leave this encounter on a good note.

"So, Severus," she began, "I know you're good at Potions, and I'm not saying I condone this sort of behavior-"

"What are you chattering on about now, woman?"

"All I'm saying is, if I was to, perhaps, prank a certain Gryffindor chaser by the name of Sirius Black, I may need some assistance."

Snape snorted. "You seem quite competent on your own."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Obviously. But Slughorn likes you a lot more than he likes me. I just want to know that if the opportunity presented itself, I may have an ally."

"Deal." Severus added quickly.

"Don't keep me waiting for an answer, Severus, I don't have all the time in the world!" she teased. He cracked a small smile, and Hermione began to giggle rambunctiously.

They were turning into the hall, and Hermione was still chuckling when they ran into Lucius Malfoy and the Slytherin Quidditch team. "Severus," he spat. "What are you doing?"

"Ahh, Mr. Snape! Thank you so much for making sure Ms. Delacourt returned safely. I'm glad to see you followed my orders so well. One hundred points to Slytherin!" Dumbledore cheerfully chirped, appearing from the Great Hall. "If you would be so kind as to follow me, we can return Ms. Delacourt to the tower. Oh, and Mr. Malfoy," Dumbledore began, glaring at him. "Do not forget that I forbade you from playing Quidditch. While it seems it slipped your memory today, make sure it doesn't again, unless you wish to spend the rest of your weekends at Hogwarts with Filch. And be grateful Severus here is a competent young man; I would hate for the rest of your House to realize how many points you lost them today." Lucius blushed bright red, and the rest of the Slytherin team shot him venomous looks.

Clearing his throat, Dumbledore turned back to Hermione and Snape. "Right this way, Severus." Dumbledore, Severus and Hermione began their journey towards the tower, and Dumbledore began to pepper Hermione with questions about her thoughts on the Quidditch game. Severus, to her surprise, shared his opinion quite vocally as well. In fact, they were in the middle of a heated discussion about the Hollyhead Harpies and the Chudley Cannons when they stepped into the tower, where they were met with chaos.

"What do you mean she isn't here?" She heard Sirius roar.

"I'm sure she's fine, mate! Calm down!" Remus yelled.

"This is all your fault, Diggory!"

"My fault?"

"You were supposed to be taking-"

"Well, if you weren't paying those fifth years so much attention-"

"Just because you're jealous, Diggory-"

"Jealous? Hardly! If anyone's jealous, I'd say it's you-"

"Oh yeah? What's that supposed to mean?"

"You know what it means!"

"Gentlemen!" Dumbledore roared finally. The Marauders, including Lily and Finn, turned to look at the strangers in the doorway.

"Severus?" Lily asked.

"What did you do to her?" James jumped in angrily. The rest began to talk all at once, James and the boys shooting daggers at Snape while Lily looked quizzically at Dumbledore.

"Oh shut it, all of you!" Hermione yelled back. Jumping down from Severus' arms, she turned to look at him. "Thank you for all your help Severus. I'll take over from here." He nodded at her, his eyes at once grateful and melancholic, and fled from the room. Dumbledore just stepped back, watching the proceedings with amusement.

"What was that?" Sirius asked, pointing angrily at the door.

"Severus walked me back to the castle. We took a lap around the lake and had a wonderful conversation!" Hermione replied, her volume growing with each word. "Now, if you would stop being a bloody idiot for twenty seconds, you could at least have had the decency to treat him like an actual human being!"

Sirius just stared at her in shock. Closing her eyes and exhaling slowly, Hermione smoothed down her ruffled jacket. "Now, if you don't mind, I would like to lay down for a bit. All of this excitement has made me exhausted."

"I think that's an excellent idea," Dumbledore spoke up. "Gentlemen, I believe you have some cleaning up to do?" The boys – and Lily – shot Hermione an apologetic glance and left the tower. Sirius was the last one to leave. He shot her a hurt look and rushed out after them. Dumbledore nodded in her direction with a soft smile, and walked after them.

The door swung shut behind her, and Hermione crumpled onto the ground, burying her face in her hands.

"Is everything okay, Mya dear?" Elvis asked softly from the painting.

Hermione shook her head. "No." She began to blubber, much to her own chagrin. "I think I just made Sirius Black hate me."

She heard the painting chuckle. "Trust me my dear, hate is the farthest thing from his mind when he thinks about you."

She sighed, massaging her temples with her hands. Gawain flew into the room and landed on the couch in front of her, hooting softly. She smiled weakly

"I hope you're right." She sighed, squaring her shoulders. "After I rest for a bit, I'll figure out a way to fix this." Hermione crawled over to the couch, pulled herself up, and sat, catching her breath. Gawain flew into her room, picked up her pillow and her favorite blanket with his talons, and flew back into the common room, dropping those items onto her lap. She shrugged out of the jacket, restored Harry's sweater to its original large size, and laid down, placing the pillow securely under her head. Gawain pulled the blanket over her, flew her jacket back into her room, and then returned to perch on the couch, keeping watch. Elvis smiled softly from his portrait and began to play "Spanish Lady" once again. Hermione, for the first time in a very long time, slept peacefully without any potion.

Dumbledore had stopped Sirius as soon as they had reached the foot of the stairs.

"Mr. Black," he began, "A word of advice?"

Sirius turned back to face him silently, his face set like a stone.

Dumbledore smiled warmly. "Jealousy and games are not the way to a woman's heart. Continue to behave in a way more becoming of a boy than a man, and you'll never have a chance." He slapped Sirius hard on the back and chuckled. "I'm certain that if anyone is up to that sort of challenge, it's you." Turning, he walked away quickly, whistling all the way as Sirius stared after him in shock.

James, having overheard the conversation, backtracked until he stood next to Sirius. "You okay?"

Sirius just groaned, burying his head in his hands.

James laughed. "Don't worry, Pads. This can be fixed. Heck, I screwed up worse than you, and look at Lily! She can't resist me!"

"I heard that, Potter!" He heard Lily call from down the hall. She traipsed back towards him and punched his squarely in the shoulder.

"Ow!"

"You deserved that!"

"Kiss it and make it better?"

"Hmph. We'll see how well you make it up to me."

Sirius just groaned again. "Not helping, guys."

Lily laughed, her giggle glittering through the air. "Sirius Black with a crush? I never thought I'd live to see the day."

Sirius growled. "You won't if you don't keep quiet about it!"

She just smiled. "Of course. Don't worry, Sirius. I'll make sure you don't permanently ruin things."

"I think I already have!" He moaned.

"Nonsense!" James declared. "Tonight, Sirius Black, is your first night as a new man! Now, first things first, we need to take care of that Iris problem."

"Iris, you say?" Lily asked. She turned to look back down the hallway, where Remus, Peter, and Finn were waiting impatiently for them to follow.

Lily turned back to look at the boys, a large smile gracing her pretty face.

"I think I can take care of that."


	9. Chapter 9

Hermione would have been quite content to sleep through the day, but after what seemed like only ten minutes – and was, in actuality, three and a half hours – she was rudely woken up by Gawain's indignant squawk as Tunie materialized in the tower.

"Augh!" Hermione shrieked, throwing herself off of the couch and landing on the floor in an ungraceful heap. Seeing that the intruder was just her shivering house elf, she groaned, her tense muscles instantly relaxing.

"I swear," Hermione muttered, "that bird is going to get it."

Gawain squawked at her, as if to say _I'd like to see you try_. He then fluttered down from the edge of the couch onto the warm cushion that she had previously occupied and settled down, cooing sleepily.

"Tunie is so sorry to wake Ms. Mya, but Headmaster wants to speak with Ms. Mya." Tunie stuttered apologetically.

Hermione smiled kindly. "It's quite all right, Tunie. It's about time I re-enter the waking world anyways." Rubbing her eyes and stretching violently, Hermione suddenly found herself landing in a large armed chair across from Dumbledore.

"Augh!" She screamed loudly, for the second time in a matter of minutes. Tunie peeked out from Dumbledore, embarrassed.

"Next time Tunie wait before Ms. Mya is ready to apparate, yes?"

Dumbledore laughed a great belly laugh. "I think that is an excellent idea, Petunia. If you would be so kinnd as to bring some tea for Ms. Delacourt and I, I would be so grateful."

Tunie vanished with a snap of her fingers, and Hermione's heart slowed down enough for her to take in her surroundings and realize she was sitting near the fireplace in Dumbledore's office.

"Are you feeling better, Ms. Delacourt?" He asked kindly.

She nodded, still too shocked to speak.

"I am certainly glad to hear it. You won't be right as rain for a few more days, but I'm certain it will be a great relief to your friends that you are improving so quickly."

"Quite," Hermione replied meekly, finally finding her voice. Clearing her throat, she straightened up in her seat. "You wanted to see me, Professor?"

Tunie materialized back into the tower. "Ahh, thank you Petunia." She set the tea set on a tray that suddenly appeared next to Dumbledore's chair. "That will be all."

Shooting one last apologetic glance at Hermione, Tunie snapped her fingers and disappeared again from the tower. Dumbledore calmly served the tea - "Jasmine and Peach essence, a personal favorite of mine" - and settled back into his chair. He took a long sip from his tea cup and sighed happily. Hermione slurped hers slowly and felt the warm floral tones glide through her body, calming her nerves.

"Right, of course," he finally began. "I have been thinking more and more about your cover story, and I believe we need to take a few more steps to make sure no one questions your presence here. Thanks to Mr. Malfoy's indiscretion, the vast majority of students here are likely to believe your story, and even Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Snape will be less likely to question it for the time being. However, I do not pretend to believe that their blind acceptance will last. We must safeguard against that. I have reached out to some of my contacts in France and I believe I have found a solution."

A small frown creased Hermione's eyebrows together, but she nodded expectantly.

"Tell me, Ms. Delacourt, have you heard of Vincent Leon?"

Hermione leaned back thoughtfully. "I think so. My mum had some of his records; she said he was really popular for a little while, but he died in a tragic car accident the year after I was born." Her eyes slowly drifted back to Dumbledore, who looked at her sadly. "It wasn't a car accident, was it?"

Dumbledore sighed. "I cannot tell the future, my dear, though the Dumbledore of your time has given me more information about your future than I would ever want to know. Yes, he will be betrayed to some followers of the Dark Lord in France. However, that is a few years in the future. As of right now, he is a recent graduate of Beauxbatons and is an up and coming, how should I put this, musical sensation in both the wizarding and muggle world."

"Forgive me, Professor," Hermione began, "but I don't see how this will help us here."

Dumbledore began to smile widely. "As I was saying earlier, I have contacts in France who put me in touch with Vincent and his band – eight other graduates from Beauxbatons, if you can believe it – and I asked for his help."

"You told him?!" Hermione cut in, flabbergasted.

"Only what was necessary: that in order to protect an important member in the movement against the Dark Lord, I created an elaborate cover story in regards to her parentage and prior education. I need someone from Beauxbatons to help me make sure that no one questions where she's from, why no other students from Beauxbatons remember her, or what her true motivations for being here are. He agreed in a heartbeat, and vouched for the members of his band as well."

"What on earth would make him do that?"

Dumbledore's eyes began to twinkle sadly. "Vincent's parents and younger sister were the first victims of the Dark Lord's followers in France."

"How awful," Hermione whispered, clutching her hand to her chest, tears threatening to fall from her eyes. _I certainly know what that's like._

Dumbledore patted her hand comfortingly. "Please do not fret, my dear. This visit will be a great gift. However, I do need something from you."

"Anything."

"I will need to copy your memories."

"Excuse me?" Hermione stopped moving, staring dumbfoundedly at Dumbledore.

He gave her a small smile. "This was Vincent's idea, if you'd believe it. Using your memories and the memories of Vincent and "the boys"," Dumbledore said, throwing in dramatic air quotations, "I will create memories of you all spending time together. That way, if for some reason a member of the group doesn't have their Occlumency shields up, they will see you in Vincent's memories and vice versa. And don't worry," he said, raising his hand before she could cut him off, "I'm not going to erase the memories you have. These new memories will remain dormant until you see Vincent and the others in person."

Hermione frowned slightly, processing this new information through her brain. "So what you're saying is, I'll have memories of me doing things with Vincent and the others that are, in fact, edited memories of my time with -" Harry's name caught in her throat.

"Yes," Dumbledore finished, studying her. "What do you think?"

Hermione sat a few more moments, puzzling over everything in her head. Finally, she sat up straight and looked him in the eye.

"I'll do it."

The next hour and a half seemed to fly by. Hermione went through all of her memories with Ron, Harry, Luna, Ginny, the Weasleys, Neville, Viktor Krum, and even Draco Malfoy, and pulled the best parts out. The longest part of the entire endeavor was the elaborate charm Dumbledore had to cast in order to duplicate the memories, but it worked without a hitch. Hermione sighed in relief when her original memories returned to her mind and she smiled at Dumbledore gratefully.

"Excellent! I'll begin stitching them together once I get the others. I should be done with them in about two weeks." Dumbledore sang, striding across the room.

"Professor," Hermione began, "I must ask. You have done so much for me with all of this. The bracelet, the quarters, the money, now this memory charm – this is so much work!"

Dumbledore smiled. "Of course it is, but I am happy to do it. Besides, I asked you to come here, didn't I? It would be unfair of me to set you free to complete such a task without the tools you need to do so. Besides, I believe you will have a much bigger part to play than this before this is all over," he concluded mysteriously.

Hermione looked at him, confused, but he clapped his hands together, preventing her from questioning him further. "Would you look at the time? Dinner is almost over. Tunie!"

Tunie appeared next to Hermione with a crack. Hermione was proud of herself; she had only squealed this time.

"Please take Ms. Delacourt down to the Great Hall for dinner. Have a lovely evening, you two."

"Yes, Headmaster." Tunie grabbed hold of Hermione's hand, and before she knew it, she was standing at the entrance to the Great Hall.

"Thank you, Tunie," Hermione wheezed, leaning her hands on her kneecaps.

"Anythings for Ms. Mya," Tunie replied proudly before disappearing away.

Hermione sighed and walked as quickly as she could over to the Gryffindor table, hoping to find a seat before her legs gave out. She glanced around the room as she entered. There was only a smattering of students at the Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff tables, but Gryffindor was in complete and utter chaos.

The vast majority of the upper years were huddled around the far end of the table. Sirius Black had Finn in a headlock, yelling loudly about something being his fault. James was rolling on the floor in laughter, while both Lily and Iris were hitting the pair of wrestling boys, trying to pull them apart. Peter was collecting money from the other Gryffindors who seemed to be placing bets.

Hermione rolled her eyes, and sat herself down at the end of the table, where she found herself alone, save Remus Lupin, who was looking at her in shock.

"What?" Hermione asked, casting a quick spell to give her seat a back.

"Where have you been?" He burst out.

Hermione backed into her chair. "I was with Dumbledore. We were just discussing how quickly I've been improving." She turned to look back at the other end of the table, where Finn now had Sirius pinned on top of a plate of what looked like mashed potatoes. She groaned, turning to look back at Remus. "Do I even want to know?"

Remus began to chuckle. "We went back to the tower to get you for dinner about fifteen minutes ago, and we found you missing. Again, might I add," he stated, shooting her a pointed look. Hermione blushed, trying to look petulant. "Anyways, Finn got it into his head that Sirius must have had something to do with it, and this is where we are now." He looked back at them, Hermione following his gaze.

"Think we should tell them?" He asked with amusement, as Lily had now flipped Sirius onto his back and was fighting to keep him off of Finn, who was currently in another headlock, this time provided by none other than Iris Brown.

"Absolutely not." Hermione turned back to Remus with a wide grin.

Remus barked out laughter. "Would you like some turkey and mashed potatoes, Ms. Delacourt?" He offered, extending the plates to her dramatically.

She chuckled in response. "Why thank you, Mr. Lupin." She began to serve herself, all the while asking Remus to fill her in on the events of their afternoon. About fifteen minutes into their discussion of mishaps involving love potions, Hermione suddenly realized that the Great Hall had fallen silent.

Quelling her giggle as best she could, she turned to the other end of the long table, where the rest of Gryffindor house was staring at her in shock.

"How long have you been down there?" James called.

Hermione burst out into silent giggles, and Remus joined her. "Only twenty minutes or so," she called back. Expressions of horror, frustration, anger, embarrassment, and relief flitted through their faces, and Hermione couldn't help herself any longer.

Clutching her sides, she tumbled off the chair and onto the floor, laughing so hard that tears began streaming down her face.

"Mya!" She heard Lily scream, but this only doubled Hermione's laughter. She felt someone raise her up into a sitting position and she found herself nearly doubling over again, this time with Remus Lupin trying – and failing – to keep them upright.

She turned to look at him, tears streaming down her face. "Did you see Black's face?"

Remus snorted. "How could I not?" He did his best Sirius Black impression, which only made Hermione laugh harder, and by the time Lily and the rest of the Gryffindors had raced to the other end of the hall, Hermione and Remus were lying flat on their backs, giggling like there was no tomorrow.

"I think you broke them, Sirius!" James exclaimed with a grin, which only fed their giggles.

"Me? How is this my fault?"

"Isn't it always?"

"Oh, bug off Diggory - "

"Oh, shut up, both of you!" Iris screeched. The rest of the Gryffindors turned to look at her in shock, and even Hermione and Remus quieted down, silent giggles racking their frames.

"No more of this, not tonight. Finn, how about we go for a walk?" Iris asked.

Finn frowned. "But - "

"No, you don't get a say. We're walking." Finn harrumphed, but didn't fight Lavender as she led him from the hall. Sirius sent Finn a sarcastic wave, but found himself being dragged out of the hall by none other than Lily Evans.

"You too, Black." And before he could say anything else, he was gone.

The rest of the Gryffindors began to follow, murmuring amongst themselves, but mostly making sure they got their winnings from Peter. Remus stood up, offered Hermione a hand, and as soon as she stood she found herself swept off her feet by none other than James Potter.

"James!" She wriggled in his arms. "I didn't finish my potatoes!"

James snorted. "We have better snacks in the common room. Besides, it's time."

"Time for what?" Hermione narrowed her eyes, flashing her suspicious glance at both of them. "Time for what?!"

James and Remus just ignored her, talking about Quidditch as they began the long ascent to Gryffindor tower. Hermione was sure that if she kept asking they would finally respond, but after fifteen tries she finally gave up.

After what seemed like ages, they arrived outside the Gryffindor Tower and were greeted by the Fat Lady.

"Password?" She sang.

"I love sopranos," Remus replied.

The Fat Lady giggled delightedly. "Of course you do!"

Remus rolled his eyes, but James shot her an indelicate wink, which earned a louder giggle from the portrait and an eye roll from Hermione. They stepped through the threshold and entered the tower dramatically.

"Welcome to Gryffindor, Mya!" The entire house shouted at once. James gently set Hermione on her feet and she glanced around and looked at all the smiling faces, her eyes quickly filling up with tears.

"What? How?" She whispered.

"It's quite simple, darling," Sirius declared, throwing his arms around her. "We always throw a party after a successful Quidditch game, and we figured it would be the perfect time to give you a proper welcome to Gryffindor as well."

Hermione didn't speak, she just shook her head back and forth, tears of joy streaming down her face. She turned into Sirius' arms and hugged him tightly. "Thank you," she gasped out. Overcoming his shock, Sirius, held her fiercely in his arms and rubbed circles on her back.

"Anything for you, dearest." He whispered into her ear so quietly Hermione almost thought she imagined it. Pulling back, the look in his eyes disproved that thought almost instantly, and the intensity in them alone made the small voice in her head whisper the thought she hadn't wanted to admit to herself. _Could it be?_

She was suddenly yanked from Sirius' arms and found herself in James', which promptly broke her reverie. "Remind Sirius he has to share, okay?" He glared at her jokingly. She grinned and hugged him back.

"Thank you James!" She yelled.

He laughed. "All right now," he said, turning to the rest of the room. "Who wants to play some Poker?"

Four hours and too many butterbeers later, Finn Diggory was carrying a sleepy Hermione back to the tower, walking alongside Lily. While most of the students had a fun, sober night, Sirius had ultimately decided that it would be best if he drank an entire bottle of firewhiskey and kiss every girl in Gryffindor. He even tried to kiss Lily, who had promptly socked him in the nose. The rest of the students in the tower got a big laugh out of it, minus Remus and Hermione. Hermione, Remus had noticed, was bright and cheerful at the beginning of the night, but the more Sirius flirted for his life with Artemis Wildwood and the like, the more Hermione faded. By the end of the night, she looked ready to burst into tears again, so after Sirius had propositioned Lily, Remus had dragged him out of the room and tossed him into their dorm, followed closely by James.

"Remus, why do you have to be such a bloody prick?" Sirius slurred.

Remus slammed the door. "You're an idiot, Black."

Sirius sneered drunkenly. "And you're a bloody wanker."

"Remus is right, Sirius. You've had enough." James ordered sharply. Remus and James promptly left the room, locked the door, and left Sirius to fall into a drunken sleep. The party had ended when they reached the common room, and they watched Finn carry Mya out of the tower, followed closely by Lily.

James slammed his hand into the door frame. "What the hell is his problem?"

"Who, Finn?" Remus replied, rubbing his eyes.

"No, Black! Didn't he hear anything Dumbledore said? How dense could he be?"

"Completely dense."Remus nodded in agreement. "That, and for the first time in his life, Sirius Black is completely terrified of a woman."

James snorted. "This should be fun."


	10. Chapter 10

Sunlight streamed into Hermione's room, and the young witch groaned, rolling away from the window, hoping to fall back asleep. No such luck. She sighed, rubbing her eyes and recalling the events of last night. She vaguely remembered Finn carrying her back to the tower after she fell asleep in the middle of exploding snap – which almost felt like an accomplishment. And then -

 _Oh yes_ , she thought. The party.

Hermione wasn't sure what started it, but after awhile, seeing the young Marauders so happy and full of life made her incredibly sad. She remembered watching James and wishing that Harry could be there with her, and then the tear ducts opened. She had to spend a solid twenty minutes of the party focusing solely on swallowing back her tears, trying to come up with a valid excuse in case anyone noticed – which they didn't, thankfully. _It had been a rather stressful week,_ she thought, _it makes complete sense that I'm a little more emotional than usual._

And then she saw Sirius Black running around, kissing everything with legs, and Hermione felt instantly worse for some reason.

 _Oh stop_ , her mind shouted at her. _You know exactly why._

Hermione groaned, grabbed her pillow out from under her and flung it with all her might at her bookshelf, upsetting a very content Gawain in the process. She muttered an apology to the owl and then slapped her palms across her forehead, groaning loudly.

Maybe it's because she knew Sirius Black in her time and saw the shadow of the man he would become. Maybe it was because she expected that this task would be easier. Maybe it was because she thought Sirius Black would change overnight the minute she met the younger version of herself.

 _Or maybe it's because you've cared about him all this time_ , her traitorous mind whispered.

Hermione scoffed. "Of course I care about him, he's Harry's godfather!"

 _You know what I mean._

Hermione groaned, smacking her hands against her forehead. "Great. Now I'm actually arguing with myself." Pushing herself out of bed, she pulled a pair of comfortable bell bottoms, a black cardigan with the Hogwarts crest, compliments of Madame Malkin, and hopped into the shower.

She emerged from her wing of the tower twenty minutes later, feeling much more relaxed. Well, that was until she entered the sitting room and Lily Evans leapt out of the armchair.

"Oh sweet Merlin!" Hermione gasped, clutching her heart.

Lily grinned sheepishly. "I didn't mean to startle you, I just wanted to see how you're holding up this morning."

Hermione froze, eyes blinking rapidly. "I'm fine."

Lily frowned and cocked her head to the left, hands resting on her hips.

"I'm fine!" Hermione repeated, loudly this time.

"Really?"

"Really."

"REALLY?"

Hermione groaned and threw herself face down onto the couch.

Lily smirked sadly and sat back down in the armchair. "That's what I thought."

Hermione rolled over, her hand once again on her forehead, this time massaging her temples. "I'm being ridiculous. I've only known him a week!" _Sort of._

"If it makes you feel any better, James claims he was certain about me after our first conversation."

Hermione moaned loudly. "I highly doubt that my feelings for Sirius Black are comparable to James Potter's for you. He's completely besotted by you!"

"Nice word choice," Lily smirked.

Hermione rubbed her eyes. "He completely frustrates me. I like him, sure, but I'm more worried about him than anything else."

"Right," Lily murmured, unconvinced. Thankfully for her, Hermione didn't hear, and just continued on with her train of thought.

"I just get the feeling that behind all the flirtation and the bravado is hiding someone who is hurt or in pain, and if he doesn't sort that out, then the real world is going to break him."

Lily sat in silence for a few moments, pondering over Hermione's remarks. "Wow. I think you hit the nail on the head with that one. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you had studied him for years."

Hermione grimaced. _You could say that_. "Hardly. I just get feelings about things like this, and as crazy as he makes me, I want to help him."

Lily chuckled. "Is that the only thing you want to do with Sirius Black?"

Hermione sat up straight and glared at her. "Yes!"

Lily glared right back, cocking an eyebrow. Hermione's stern countenance faltered slightly.

"Yes. No? Maybe? I don't know!" She yelled, laying back on the couch with a whump!

Lily smiled. "Well, the first stage of acceptance is denial, so at least we're on the way!"

Hermione groaned again. "Don't remind me."

They sat in silence for a few more moments, both lost in their thoughts. Hermione was agonizing over her confused feelings about Sirius Black, and Lily was racking her brain, trying to come up with a plan to bring the two together while breaking down whatever barriers Sirius Black had in place. Finally, a delicious plan appeared in her head, and Lily began to grin widely.

"Mya, I have an absolutely wonderful and terrible idea."

Hermione sat up and looked at Lily, shocked that she should see Fred and George Weasley's "plotting" expression on Lily Potter's face. She grinned in spite of herself.

"I'm listening."

Lily tossed her hair over her shoulder triumphantly. "It's simple, really. The best way for us to break through to Sirius Black - " and get you two together, she added in her thoughts, "is to simply beat him at his own game. Not all at once, of course. The best way to get through to Sirius Black, for good, is to play the long game. If he gets a few minor victories here or there, that doesn't matter. We're in this to win the marathon, not the hundred meter dash."

Hermione sat back, lost in thought. Then, a mischievous smile broke across her face, and she beamed back at Lily.

"Lily Evans, I like the way you think."

"Rise and shine, sleeping ugly! It's time to wake up!"

Sirius groaned. "Please, and I mean this with all my heart, SHUT UP JAMES POTTER!" Sirius growled.

Instead of replying, James walked across the room and threw open the curtains. Sirius roared and threw the covers over his head.

"You're going to miss dinnertime if you stay in there any longer," Remus added.

Sirius groaned again. "I feel like death."

"Yeah, well you look like it too!" James spat, pulling the blankets off of him. Sputtering angrily, Sirius pushed James away.

"Bloody hell, Potter, what on earth's your problem?"

James sighed. "You honestly have no idea?"

"None whatsoever," he declared, rubbing his eyes.

"Really? Anything about last night stick out in your mind?" James pushed back, loudly.

Sirius moaned, rubbing his temple as he tried to recall the events of last night.

"Just a few more seconds," Remus chuckled.

Sirius suddenly sat up, the blood draining from his face. "Oh no."

James shook his head, sighing sadly. "Oh yes."

"Damnit!" Sirius shouted, knocking his hand into the dresser. Swearing silently to himself, he dragged himself out of bed and made his way to the shower. As he crossed the threshold, he turned to look back at James and Remus. "I really pulled a number on myself this time, didn't I?"

James sighed sadly. "You really did. We just talked about this yesterday, too! Mya Delacourt isn't like every other girl here at Hogwarts! You can't play your same old games with her."

Remus shrugged. "Since Sirius couldn't stop himself for one day-" He shot the wizard in question a fiery glare, who just groaned in response, holding his sinking head in both of his hands - "Maybe he doesn't like her as much as he claims to."

Sirius growled. James turned to look at Remus, about to argue, when he saw Remus shoot him a knowing wink. Shooting a mischievous grin back his way, he cleared his throat, turning his face instantly into an apologetic frown.

"Diggory really seems to like her, and since Iris Brown hasn't staked a claim on him yet, maybe he's the better choice-"

"Over my dead body!" Sirius hollered angrily. "I may be a complete and utter idiot, but I am not going to make the same mistakes again. Not with her."

"You sort of already did," Remus replied quietly.

Pulling himself up, Sirius gazed at both of his friends, fire twinkling in his eyes. "You're right, I did. But that was the old Sirius Black. The new Sirius Black is going to woo her the old fashioned way, no matter how long it takes, and be an absolute gentleman!" He finished loudly.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, the new Sirius Black is going to go throw up in the bathroom," and with a wild turn, Sirius Black disappeared from the tower.

Remus and James stood in silence a few moments. Finally, Remus spoke. "Do you think it's a little early for Sirius to feel this strongly about a girl he just met?"

James burst out into laughter. "You do know who you're talking to, right?"

Remus groaned, but a bright smile broke across his face. "Touche. I suppose it makes sense that with you as an example, he feels the need to marry the first girl he actually likes as a person."

Remus clapped James on the back and left the room. James followed behind, smiling brightly all the way as a new plan began to cross his mind.

It was almost an hour later by the time the Marauders made it downstairs for dinner. Sirius Black had chugged about three hangover potions and was feeling totally back to normal. In fact, it was James and Remus who were slowing him down. He wanted to make sure that he saw Mya in the Great Hall so he could apologize and get things back on track.

He rushed into the room, glancing up and down the Gryffindor table. His eyes finally caught onto the familiar curly hair and he made a beeline for the empty spot to her left, making sure that he was walking quickly enough to get there before anyone else but not fast enough that people would suspect that he needed to sit there. He had a reputation to uphold, after all.

Hermione was sitting across from Lily, discussing what sort of dresses they wanted to wear to the Halloween ball when Hermione felt a presence sit down on her right side. Lily mouthed the words "it's him", but before Sirius got the chance to say anything to her, James and Remus sat down on either side of Lily and immediately engaged Sirius in a conversation about the Arithmancy homework.

The chills on her spine relieved for the moment, she forced her breathing to slow down. _Relax, Hermione. You can do this._ She peeked over to the right and saw Sirius Black watching her, trying to find a time to break out of conversation unsuccessfully and growing more frustrated with his friends by the second, who were either oblivious, or completely messing with him. Grateful that she had come down for dinner when she did, she chugged the last of her pumpkin juice and started gathering her books together.

"You're leaving already?" Sirius finally asked, blatantly ignoring James and Remus at this point, who all of the sudden grew very quiet.

 _Breathe. You practiced this_. "Yes, I actually told Finn that I would meet him in the library to go over last week's homework. He was kind enough to volunteer to help me catch up since I missed so much." Hermione added, tossing her book bag over her shoulder, finally making eye contact with Sirius. She noted gleefully that his expression became tense with her proclamation, and that he was squeezing his fork so tight that his knuckles were white.

"Aww, isn't that nice of Diggory?" James spoke up sweetly.

"Very nice, don't you agree Black?" Remus added innocently, propping his chin on his fist.

Sirius grimaced. "He's a saint," he muttered darkly.

Hermione looked at him, amused. Clearing her throat, she turned to Lily. "I'll meet you back in the tower."

She turned to move away, but Sirius caught her arm. "Listen, Mya, about last night - "

Hermione put on her best "acting confused" face. "What about it?"

Clearly not expecting that reaction, Sirius began to stutter. "I just wanted to make sure you had a nice time, after, well, you know - "

 _Well, he's trying,_ Hermione thought. She put a smug smile on her face and turned back to him. "I'm sorry, but I really don't know what you're talking about. Finn did take me to bed quite early, so I probably missed it," - at this point Hermione noted that Sirius turned a bright red and began to sputter, to her great amusement, "but I did have a really lovely time, thank you James," she finished, turning to the young wizard who could barely contain his laughter.

"Anytime, Mya!" James chortled, clutching at Remus' arm. Sirius just growled, pushed himself off of the bench and stalked past Hermione out of the Great Hall. Hermione turned to look at Lily triumphantly, shot her a large wink, and skipped off to the library.

James and Remus turned to look at Lily, who was red with laughter. "If I didn't know any better, Ms. Evans," James began, "I would think you two are up to something."

Lily swallowed her laughter, grinning widely. "Why, Mr. Potter, whatever gave you that idea?"

Remus leaned over to see James clearly. "Have I told you that I like this girl?"

"Which one? Lily or Mya?"

"Both!"

"What do you know, I do too!" James added in mock shock. Chuckling, he turned back to Lily. "In all seriousness though, whatever your plan is, I want in."

"Me too," Remus added. "If anyone can make Sirius Black sweat, my money's on her."

"Gentlemen," Lily replied, her eyes twinkling mischievously, "I'm so glad you asked."


	11. Chapter 11

Lily Evans had a devious mind when she plotted. Remus and James left the dinner incredibly shocked – and if James was being honest, more than just a little turned on – by the flawless plan she had seemingly created during the span of their meal. Lily was quite impressed with herself too, and eagerly spilled the details of the plan with Hermione as soon as she returned to the tower.

The plan was simple, really; Hermione was going to be playing hard to get, quite literally. James and Remus were going to make sure to feel Sirius false information about Hermione's whereabouts during the weeks following the boggart incident. Hermione, for her part, would go to meals at different times each day, and every moment that wasn't spent in class was spent in either the Head Girl tower or the library, researching about Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem – not that Lily knew that detail. Additionally, Lily coordinated with Iris Brown to make sure that Hermione was never alone on the off chance that Sirius strayed from James and Remus. Having Iris Brown a part of the plan was contingent to its success, Lily assured Hermione. Iris, Lily had noticed, was quite taken with a certain Finn Diggory, and Lily and James and Remus had agreed that the sooner the Finn-and-Iris problem was taken care of, the better. She made certain that Iris escorted Hermione and Finn to all of their classes that Monday and Tuesday, while Finn still had to carry Hermione around, and by Wednesday it was now an ingrained part of their routine. On Thursday, Hermione left the two of them early on in the day and joined Lily at Lily's insistence, and by Friday Finn and Iris were inseparable.

"That happened rather quickly," Hermione remarked the following Saturday evening during dinner in the Great Hall. The pair had finally announced their "couple-dom" on Sunday, and Hermione hadn't seen hide nor hair of Finn the following week. Finn and Iris were now spending every waking moment together, which had made Lily sigh happily and Hermione feel like puking.

Lily shrugged and plopped down next to her on the bench. "I know how Iris operates. It was completely obvious to me that she was taking a page out of Sirius' book, trying to make Finn jealous – and we all know how well THAT works." She smirked, scooping some sweet potatoes onto her plate.

Hermione chuckled. "Well, I'm happy that they're happy. And it'll be nice to not have her glaring at me every time Finn and I speak."

Lily smiled brightly. "If anything, I think she's eternally in your debt."

A sudden ruckus was heard at the doors of the Great Hall. Sirius was trying to move over to the Gryffindor table, but Remus had leapt onto his back, trying to keep him back while James had wrapped himself around Sirius' legs.

"Get your bloody hands off me, Potter!" Sirius growled loudly.

"But I'm not hungry yet!" James huffed back in reply.

Sirius kicked him away furiously, to no avail. "You're always hungry!"

"Says who?"

"Says you!"

Lily turned to look at Hermione, who was rolling her eyes. "From what the boys have been telling me, Sirius is close to murder."

Hermione cocked one eyebrow. "Really? I wonder why," she replied demurely, shoveling the rest of her food into her mouth.

Lily laughed gaily. Hermione turned to look at Sirius, who did, in fact, look ready to commit murder. "So, when do we start step two?"

Lily turned to face Hermione. "Tomorrow," she smirked brightly.

Quickly finishing the rest of their dinners, the two girls raced out of the hall, skirting around the boys. Sirius, to his credit, did his best to race after Hermione, but James and Remus, finally deciding that they were in fact hungry, dragged him kicking and screaming into the Great Hall. Hermione and Lily continued to run in an all-out sprint to the Head Girl's tower, and Hermione was gracious in defeat as Lily reached Lord Brimble's portrait first. Panting and grinning, they stepped into the common room, and after wishing each other a good night, went their separate ways.

Hermione went into her room, shut the door quietly behind her, and proceeded to flop dramatically onto the bed. She sighed loudly, threw her hands over her eyes, and began massaging her strained eyes. She was incredibly grateful that she had a distraction free two weeks, for many reasons. First of all, she had managed to make her way through every edition of Hogwarts: A History, thanks to Dumbledore's expansive personal library. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to gleam any more information regarding the whereabouts of the diadem, just that it had disappeared in the early 14th century and hadn't been seen since. It had been a welcome break to focus on the other part of the mission – the most important part, the small, rational part of her brain had tried to argue.

 _Oh please_ , the other part of her mind retorted, _you just don't want to admit how upset you got because of a certain Sirius Black._

Hermione groaned, disturbing a sleeping Gawain, who hooted indignantly from his perch in the enchanted tree bookshelf.

"Sorry," Hermione whispered. The poor owl had spent the past few days flying between her room and Dumbledore's office. Once Dumbledore had caught word that Hermione hadn't found any more information, he sent every single book that he thought may lead a helping hand – which meant that Hermione's room was currently housing over a hundred books. Normally, that sort of research would have sent a thrill racing through her heart, but the sensitive part of her mind was right – she had been hurt by Sirius' actions. She had always had a history of liking older men – Professor Lockhart, Viktor Krum –

 _Even Professor Snape_ , her mind whispered in betrayal.

"Oh hush, you!" She murmured to herself through gritted teeth.

 _It was only a matter of time until this happened._

"I know," Hermione sighed to herself. Laying down on her bed, she desperately searched for sleep, but instead found herself plagued by thoughts of Sirius Black.

It was this anxiety that Hermione was mulling over the next day after brunch in Dumbledore's office. He had snagged her after she had finished eating, under the pretense of a counseling session, in order to give her the modified memories.

She sat facing his desk as he finished the final touches on his charm. Her eyebrows creased as she chewed on her lip, lost in thought.

"Ahh, done at last!" Dumbledore exclaimed. He looked up expecting to see a response, but was met with a blank stare.

"Ms. Delacourt? Ms. Delacourt, are you all right?" He asked, waving his hand in front of her face.

The movement caused Hermione to snap out of her reverie, and she shot Dumbledore an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, Professor; I find that I'm rather lost in thought these days."

Dumbledore leaned back in his chair. "Is that so? What thoughts have set you off course, my dear?"

Hermione blushed and stared at her hands. "Sirius Black, sir."

Dumbledore smiled softly to himself, his eyes twinkling. "Ahh, I see."

Hermione continued to stare at her hands, oblivious to the look in his eyes. "I just don't know how I can go about helping him. I mean, I think it will take someone truly caring about him to shape him into the man that Harry will need him to be when the time comes, but I don't know how to do it-"

She cut off suddenly, gazing up at Dumbledore vulnerably. "I don't know how to do it and not get my heart involved."

Dumbledore sighed and reached his hand across to the table to grasp hers. "Unfortunately, Mya dear, I think it is too late; your heart will naturally be involved."

Hermione sighed mournfully, rubbing her temples in a circular motion with her free hand. "That's what I was afraid of."

Dumbledore stood up from his spot at his desk and moved to kneel next to her. "But perhaps, my dear, that is exactly what this situation calls for."

She turned to face him, disbelief etched on her lovely face. "Really?"

"Really." He nodded emphatically. "A single heart full of love can change the world."

Hermione nodded to herself. "But what if it's-"

"No "buts" Ms. Delacourt. It will all work out the way the fates intend."

Hermione smirked. "You're telling that to a time traveler."

Dumbledore smiled. "The fact that the Fates have allowed this shows that this is in their plan. Trust me, Mya," he said, standing up and walking back to his desk, "It will all work out the way it is supposed to. Now," he picked up the sparkly blue liquid and handed it to Hermione, "unlike memories that we place into a pensieve, this is a liquid form of memories. It will merge seamlessly with your magic and your mind so that if for some reason someone tries to access your memories, they will not be able to tell which are real and which are fake."

Hermione gasped. "But that's not possible!"

Dumbledore winked at her. "What did I say, Ms. Delacourt? Things always work out the way the fates intend."

Hermione stared doubtfully at the liquid. Hardening her resolve, she tossed her head back and drank the blue liquid in a single gulp.

"Perfect! As I stated earlier, you won't be able to access those memories until the situation requires it. At that time, the charm will activate and your conscious and subconscious will be flooded with these new memories. Expect to be a little disoriented for a while; remembering things forgotten is often world changing."

Hermione smiled gratefully at Dumbledore and stood up to leave. "Thank you so much, Professor. I will never be able to repay you for this." Waving goodbye, she stole silently out of the office.

As the door shut, Dumbledore turned to look at Gawain, who had somehow stolen his way into the office during their meeting.

"No, Hermione, it is I who will never be able to repay you."

Dumbledore pulled an old, tattered book from his shelves and handed it silently to Gawain. The owl hooted once and flew out of the office window, around the castle, and back into his room. He hopped over to one of the great piles of books and tucked the newest addition in. He then flew up to his perch and sat, waiting for his mistress.

Sirius Black was in a very foul mood.

"Two weeks." He muttered to himself as he pushed various steamed vegetables around his plate.

"Excuse me?" Peter Pettigrew asked between bites of bread. Sirius scowled at him; the rat was spending less and less time with James and company and more and more time with Rodolphus Lestrange, the wiry Ravenclaw. James and Remus were not concerned about the change in Peter's behavior – to be honest, they hadn't really noticed – but any change from the norm was provoking Sirius into having an even worse mood.

James stole some grapes off of Sirius' plate and popped them into his mouth in a quick succession. "Black's just sore because he hasn't gotten a chance to speak to Mya."

Sirius growled at James, who ignored him and proceeded to steal more food off his plate.

Remus sighed, annoyed with Sirius' churlish behavior. "I'm sure she's just busy with homework."

"We just started the term!" Sirius practically yelled across the Hall.

James shrugged. "If she's anything like Lily, then that means nothing."

Sirius growled again, and was about to leave the table when he heard two twinkling laughs cascade through the air. He turned to the door and saw Lily and Mya walk in, giggling about something or another.

"Pettigrew, move!" Sirius cried, pushing Peter further down the table. Peter flew down the bench, sputtering the entire way, but Sirius was too busy trying to get the girl's attention to notice.

"Lily! Mya!" Remus finally called, chortling at Sirius' desperate attempts to wave them over.

Lily and Mya turned to face the boys and smiled warmly.

"Hi boys!" Mya called. She walked towards Remus and James, but before she could blink she was being thrown down on Sirius' side of the table.

"Long time no see, sweetheart!" Sirius shot her his best smoldering grin.

Mya smiled back confused, blinking a few times. Finally, comprehension dawned on her face. "Your right! It has been a few weeks, hasn't it? Time has just flown by! I never thought I would meet someone who enjoys studying as much as me!" She replied, smiling at Lily who had sat down between James and Remus to James' delight.

Lily winked back. "It's official Delacourt, you're my soulmate!"

Remus chuckled while James pretended to look hurt.

"I don't blame her, Potter, Delacourt is much better looking than you." Sirius tossed back, grinning brightly.

James shouted, "Why, you mangy dog!" and lunged across the table at Sirius, knocking them both onto the ground. Mya and Lily just rolled their eyes and began eating dinner.

"So, Remus," Mya began cautiously, "How have things been going?"

"Okay," he replied vaguely. "But I think things are about to get a lot better now, especially for certain members of our little group," he added, looking pointedly at Sirius. Mya blushed and busied herself with eating her food while Lily winked at Remus.

A few minutes later, finally done with their scuffle after being threatened with no Quidditch by McGonagall, Sirius and James sat back on the benches and joined the others in conversation, this time about school work. They were the last ones to leave the Great Hall, and when Mya hugged them all a good night – saving Sirius for last – Remus and James joked the entire way back to the tower that they would have to tie Sirius down to his bed lest he fly away. Sirius just shook his head, much too happy to be upset.

"I have to say Black, I've never seen you act this way about a girl." Potter stated finally as they got ready for the night.

Sirius threw himself onto his bed, his arms nestled behind his head. "What can I say? She's different."

Remus sat on his bed. "I'll say. Just, be careful with this one, okay?"

"What do you mean?" Sirius called back, sitting up.

Remus sighed and ran his hands through his sandy hair. "I'm just saying that you fall into a pattern with girls. You're in love for a week, then you get them in your bed and all of a sudden it's like they've never existed. You can't do that to this girl."

"I won't! I would never!" Sirius shot back.

"Hey, you know that and I know that, but she doesn't know that, and the other girls at Hogwarts sure as hell don't know that!" James added in. "We love you man, but we know how you operate. You really have to be careful with this one."

"I will. I promise," he said, shooting a meaningful look at Remus.

And promise he did. The following week Sirius Black was a perfect gentlemen. He graciously volunteered to work with Mya whenever she didn't have a partner in class – well, more like he jumped on her the minute he got a chance so no one else had the opportunity to ask for her, except in Potions, where she spent every class working with Severus Snape to Sirius' perpetual annoyance – and made sure to ask about her questions about herself, her family, France.

Hermione was incredibly pleased on many levels by this sudden change in Sirius Black. She saw for the first time just how deeply he could care, and it fueled her hope that maybe, just maybe she would be able to save him after all.

 _And_ , the snide voice in her heart added in, _you love that he's showering all of his "caring" on you._

Hermione was too happy to even retort.

Classes had been going extremely well since the first incident. It had been three weeks since the first Gryffindor Quidditch match, and Hermione felt totally caught up. Working alongside Severus in Potions was proving to be a delightful challenge. Even Severus was surprised by how well they worked together, which please Hermione to know end. The rest of her advanced classes were going splendidly as well, and she noted with great amusement – and happiness – that Sirius was doing everything in his power to make sure that she worked almost exclusively with him.

Hermione skipped down to a late brunch that Saturday. It was the first weekend in October, and she could almost feel the changing season electrify her bones. She raced into the Great Hall and plopped herself down next to Lily and the Marauders, who were busy speculating about the Hallow's Eve ball.

"I'm surprised Dumbledore hasn't announced it yet!" Iris Brown remarked from the other side of the table.

Lily nodded her head in agreement. "Me too, actually."

Hermione picked up her knife and began to butter the English muffin that had magically appeared on her plate. "Are we sure it's happening?"

"Of course it's happening! My mother is friends with Madame Malkin, and she's been ordering lots of extra fabric; she's expecting a huge rush next weekend, it's gotta be any day now!" Iris replied gleefully. She turned to Finn. "You're taking me, right?"

Finn spit out his pumpkin juice and turned to look at her in surprise. "Of course! I was just trying to think of a dramatic way to ask you!"

Iris patted him on the cheek. "That's sweet, Finn dear, but the sooner the other girls know you're off limits, the better."

Hermione quirked an eyebrow at Lily. "I assume I would have heard if James had asked you?"

Lily squirmed in her bench while James shot Hermione a wide smile. "Oh don't worry, everyone will hear about it!"

"That's what I'm afraid of," Lily muttered under her breath. Hermione just chuckled softly to herself.

"What about you, Black? Who are you thinking of inviting?" Iris asked.

Hermione immediately stopped breathing and tensed up, waiting to see Sirius' reaction. He turned to look at her.

"Well, I-"

"He's taking me! Isn't that right, sweetheart?" Daphne Martinerre purred.

Remus shot James a worried expression and groaned. He'd been trying to get it through her head for weeks that Sirius wasn't interested. Both he and James had had to work twice as hard to make sure that she wasn't anywhere near Sirius when Mya wasn't around. They didn't want Mya to get the wrong idea about him – though to be fair his "relationship" with Daphne was practically identical to all of his other relationships. They both sincerely hoped that Mya would change him, and for the better, but they couldn't convince Daphne that her time with Sirius meant nothing. And even though Sirius was taken with Mya, they both knew very well that pretty girls were his weakness. And apparently, this girl couldn't take no for an answer.

Sirius became bright red. "I never-"

Daphne giggled, draping herself over Sirius. "That's not what you said that night that we-"

"Of course, how could I forget?" He shouted loudly. He focused his gaze back on Mya, pleading for her to look at him, but she just stared at her plate, her face pale.

Daphne sat herself on his lap, and it took all of Sirius' self-control not to push her into the Floo and send her far, far away. "I don't know why you've been avoiding me since the beginning of term, but it's okay. I forgive you now." She shot Mya a triumphant smirk, but Mya was still looking at her plate.

Hermione's heart sunk into her stomach. I knew it was too good to be true. It's only been three weeks; nobody can change that quickly – if Sirius Black could ever change at all.

Hermione finished her glass of pumpkin juice and stood up from the table. Lily, James, Iris and Finn were glaring at Sirius and Daphne, while Remus just looked at her sadly.

"Mya," Sirius started.

"I've got to go," Hermione spoke suddenly. She jumped up from the table and was about to sprint through the front door when Dumbledore's voice rang out.

"A moment, Ms. Delacourt. May I have your attention please?" He stood addressing the student body. All heads turned to face him – well, all heads except for Sirius Black's.

Dumbledore smiled. "As I'm sure you are all well aware, the Hallow's Eve dance is to be held in a matter of weeks." Excited whispers broke through the Hall, and Dumbledore had to clap his hands to regain control. "Now, I know I am rather late in announcing it, but I wanted to make sure that our surprise would, in fact, work out. It took several days of serious work, intense interviews, and it required several people to become permanent residents of the United Kingdom, registered with our Ministry of Magic, but thanks to Ms. Delacourt's suggestion, I believe I have found a suitable entertainer for the evening.

A sudden commotion could be heard outside the Great Hall. "Where ees she?" A deep, worried voice cried.

Hermione froze. Why did that voice sound familiar?

The doors to the Great Hall suddenly flew open and a beautiful young man stepped through. He had long, wavy light brown hair and piercing blue eyes the color of the sky. Countless students gasped and then became eerily silent as he took a few cautious steps into the hall.

"Is that who I think it is?" Iris whispered excitedly, looking at Hermione. Hermione, however, hadn't even noticed that anyone else was in the room. She stepped further out into the walkway between the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables and stared at him. A sudden flood of memories flew through her mind and she stumbled back, blinking back tears. Dozens of new memories suddenly appeared in her mind – well, they weren't new memories exactly. Some were memories she had from time spent with Ron and Harry and some were completely unfamiliar, but instead of starring Ron and Harry, they starred the handsome man standing in front of her. The two of them fighting a troll in the bathroom. The two of them studying for finals. The two working together in Potions, going sledding, visiting the Eiffel tower, dancing in the streets of Paris, celebrating a Quidditch win with some other boys she instinctively knew, exchanging Christmas presents, dancing together at a Beauxbatons formal ball, holding each other tight right before she was torn away –

"Vincent," she breathed. The moment he heard her say his name he raced across the hall, swept her up into his arms and swung her around.

"Mya, amour de ma vie," he whispered over and over again. Hermione began sobbing openly and clinging to him desperately. He took her face into his hands, kissed her quickly on the lips and every corner of her face, as the French are wont to do, Hermione noted.

At this the entire Great Hall erupted into chaos, and James and Remus found themselves tackling Sirius to the ground as he yelled in rage at the "bloody Frenchman." Lily just sat in complete and utter shock, gazing at Hermione and Vincent in surprise.

"Quiet, quiet down!" Dumbledore shouted, finally regaining control of the crowd. As the noise settle the Great Hall turned and looked at Hermione and Vincent once again.

"You are alive! Ees a miracle!" Vincent cried, swinging Hermione around.

She giggle, wiping away her tears. "I'm so sorry I couldn't tell you-"

"Shh," he said, placing his finger over her lips. "It ees for zee best, ma petite papillon. And do not worry, 'arry ees safe."

Hermione smiled sadly and threw herself back into his arms. A loud clearing of the throat finally broke the two apart, and Hermione looked up at the Headmaster bashfully.

"Mr. Leon, would you mind introducing yourself to the students?"

"I will be just a moment," he said, turning to Hermione and winking at her. He then walked quickly to the front of the room and stood in Dumbledore's place.

"Good morning, students of Hogwarts. My name ees Vincent Leon-" He stopped speaking to allow for cheers – "and I honoured to be performing at your 'allow's Eve ball. I would also like to thank you for taking care of ma Cherie Mya Delacourt. She ees like family," he said, tearing up. "She ees all I 'ave left. And knowing that she ees happy and safe 'ere ees all I could hope for."

Many of the girls in the Great Hall began sobbing, whispering about how sweet it was that he loved her so much and that "they weren't even related!"

"Family, huh?" A voice scoffed from the Gryffindor table. Remus and James turned to look at Sirius, who they then elbowed sharply in the ribs.

"Yes. She ees family." Vincent shot back, glaring at Sirius. "Mya ees my best friend, and not having you in my life, thinking that you were-" he cut off again, swallowing tears, "I never want to lose you again.

But, enough talk of sadness! I am, how you say, overjoyed to 'ave found my sister and so many new friends!" He shouted. The Great Hall immediately erupted in cheers and Hermione instantly found herself smiling. _No wonder he was such a success_ , she thought to herself. _It's too bad_ – she couldn't even finish the thought. Tears threatened to overtake her once again, but Hermione pasted a smile on her face _. Dumbledore wasn't kidding when he said these memories would be strong!_

She tuned back into Vincent's speech just as he was finishing up. "And, of course, zee other boys will be here as well - "Vincent again had to stop, this time due to the incessant screaming coming from the Hogwarts female population – "and we cannot wait to celebrate with you! Now, I'm afraid I must be on my way, but before I go-" at this point he leapt off the stage and walked confidently over to Hermione. As he walked, he subtly flicked his wrist and a bouquet of stunning red roses appeared. He stopped just inches away from her face and looked at her, smiling. "Will you be my date to zee 'allow's Eve ball?"

Hermione stood, flabbergasted. Remembering that she had to actually responded, she nodded her head and whispered a shy yes.

"She said yes! My wild English rose said yes!" Vincent cried to the cheers of the Great Hall, and he swept her up into his arms, swinging her around wildly once again.

"Try and top that, Potter," Remus whispered to James, who was staring at the couple in shock.

"Quite exciting. Ms. Delacourt, if you would mind escorting Mr. Leon out, I would like to speak to the rest of you about proper dance etiquette-" He turned to look at James meaningfully, who just turned away whistling.

"Congratulations!" Iris squealed from her table as Hermione and Vincent walked by. Hermione shot her a small smile before her face encountered Sirius'. He stared back at her, a pained, shamed and somehow also furious expression on his face. She turned away sadly and hurried out the hall.

Once they had crossed the Hogwarts apparition threshold and were certain that no one else was around, Hermione turned to look at Vincent. "Vincent, thank you," she shot out. "I can't thank you enough."

Vincent smiled at her and took her hand in his. "Do not mention it, my wild English rose. I would do anything to help someone as beautiful as you. And not just on the outside," he said, whispering. "Besides, I have the feeling that, 'ad the Fates permitted, we would have been the best of friends."

Hermione smiled and took her other hand in his. "Correction: we will be the best of friends."

Vincent smiled brightly, and Hermione blushed. "I would very much like the sound of that. And do not worry," he added as an afterthought, "I 'ave ordered our formal wear already."

"Really, there was no need-"

"Nonsense," he stated emphatically, holding up his hand. "It ees my gift to you. You have given me such a gift already. Now, I will know my life 'as a purpose, because I helped zee girl who destroyed zee darkness plaguing our world."

Hermione blushed. "I don't know that-"

"But I do," he replied. "You will do great zings, Mya Delacourt. And while zee memories may not be real, my love and gratitude for you, for what you have done, for what you have been through and what you will go through will be with you, _Pour toujours et à jamais."_

 _Before she knew what she was doing, Hermione pulled him in closer and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you. Pour toujours et a jamais."_

 _He smiled softly back at her. Taking her hand in his, he kissed it while maintaining eye contact. Then, with a wink and an "I'll see you soon," he disapparated away._

 _Drained from that morning's events, Hermione walked a few feet over to the great oak tree by the lake and sat down. She thought about the boys she left behind, the boy she would never get to know, and the young man with stormy eyes who had captured and broken her heart. And Hermione Granger cried._

A/N I AM SO SORRY. I had really planned on being better with more constant updates, but that's the funny thing about muses. I'm getting a zillion ideas for other fanfics that I'm dying to write, but Orion's Bane is being a difficult child right now and Wonder is my baby and it's taking a very long time to write those chapters. That being said, my goal is to have both completed by the first of September at the absolute latest, so I'm going to do my best to have a consistent, weekly upload schedule. And thank you so much to everyone who has left reviews! Your kindness, support and love for these stories means the world to me! If anyone would like to be a beta/has ideas for these fics, or for other stories I should write after these, please let me know! I may hold a poll closer to the end of these stories to see what you would like to see next. Anyways, thank you so much, and my love and thoughts are with you!


	12. Chapter 12

"I knew it, she's just like everyone else," Sirius spat as he raced out of the hall. James, Remus, Peter and Lily were hot on his heels.

"How can you such things? That is a lie and you know it!" Lily yelled back. The group was racing up the stairs to the Gryffindor Tower. Dumbledore had finally released them after a twenty minute speech on expectations for the Hallow's Eve Ball, proper dance etiquette and the lengthy detentions that would be handed out to any witch or wizard caught spiking the blood punch bowl. Sirius had grown progressively redder throughout the entirety of the speech as memories of Mya in that Frenchman's arms swam through his mind.

Growling, Sirius rushed ahead even further, and the others had to break into a sprint to keep up.

"He called her his sister, Black. I'm fairly certain lovers don't call each other that!" James hollered after him.

"I'm glad he asked her, and I'm glad she said yes." Lily screeched, finally stopping Sirius in his tracks. He turned to face her, his eyes shooting fiery daggers.

"Care to elaborate, Evans?" He spat. Lily slid to a stop right in front of him, threw back her shoulders and returned his furious glare.

"I will. After the lovely display between you and your latest plaything, it's no wonder that she leapt at the opportunity to go to the dance with someone that she knew truly cared about her!" She began, her voice at a deadly whisper.

Sirius stepped closer, his eyes locked on her flushed face. "Is that right?"

"Of course it's right!" She spat back, her eyes narrowing. "If you could just keep it in your pants and act like a man instead of a pubescent boy, you wouldn't be in this mess. But no; you are so set on winning "the game" that you don't care about the feelings of the people around you. You use them, abuse them, and lose them. And don't give me that crap that you've tried to change; you can't "try" in a situation like this. Either you decide to make a change and you do what you need to do, or you don't." Breathing heavily, she took a step back. "And if this is the person you've decided to be, then she deserves much better than you."

With that final parting shot Lily turned around, walking quickly towards the Head Girl's tower. James looked over at Sirius, who was losing his battle to remain composed. He began to walk after Lily when Sirius shouted after him.

"You too, Potter?" He spat again.

James just shook his head sadly. "I have nothing else to say." Turning around, he ran after Lily. Sirius stood angrily in the hallway for a few minutes and finally turned to look at Remus, who in turn clapped him on the back sadly. Incensed, Sirius marched into the Gryffindor common room and found Daphne, who was lounging amid her admirers on one of the main couches.

"Sirius! Did you want to study?" She asked suggestively, fluttering her eyelids. The girls around her giggled, but Sirius just focused his icy glare on her.

"Since I promised I would take you to the dance at the beginning of this year, when I found you sobbing over Lucius Malfoy-" the girls in the common room gasped, betrayed - "I will honor that agreement. But the second the dance is over, I never want to see you even looking at me, James, Remus, Lily, Peter or Mya again. Do you understand me? We are nothing, Daphne Martinerre. And if you're expecting me to lavish any sort of affection on you, you'd have better luck with Grindelwald's corpse!" His last sentence ended with a scream, and the entire Gryffindor tower was staring at him, some in shock, some with pity, but it soon turned to disgust as they glanced over at Daphne, whose face was as pale as a sheet.

"Sirius-" She began meekly.

"You don't get to speak to me ever. Got it?" He spat. She nodded her head mutely. "Good."

With that, Sirius swept out of the tower in search of James and Lily, with Remus trotting at his heels. Remus turned as they left the tower and shot a triumphant look at the very scared looking Daphne.

"Serves her," he muttered.

"Damn right," was Sirius' growled reply.

Hermione wasn't certain how much time had passed when she felt a presence sit down on the ground next to her. She blinked her teary eyes open, shocked to find none other than Severus Snape sitting next to her. He wasn't looking at her, of course. He was staring off into the distance.

A few minutes passed in silence, and Hermione did her best to calm down. Finally, Severus broke the ice, speaking quietly.

"Sirius Black is a fool."

Hermione snorted, a few rogue tears streaming down her cheeks. "Don't I know it."

Severus offered her his handkerchief, all the while staring out at the forest beyond. "I do hope you're not wasting all of your tears on the likes of him."

This made Hermione chuckle, and she wiped the rest of her tears away eagerly. "No, it's not just him. It's a lot of things. I'm-" she paused, lost in thought. "I'm afraid, because the next time I see Vincent will be the last in this lifetime."

Severus turned to look at her, shock written across his face. "Why do you say that?"

Hermione smiled sadly. "I know it, Severus."

He sighed, running his hand through his hair. "Of all the things that have happened today, the fact that you're claiming to be a Seer shocks me the most."

Hermione swatted his arm playfully. "I AM a Seer, Severus. It's not a claim. Just ask Professor Trelawney!"

Severus groaned, shuddering. "I'd rather not."

Hermione laughed brightly at this, and even Severus's face broke out into a grimace that could be considered a smile. They sat awhile longer in silence. Severus turned to examine his new classmate as she stared off, lost in thought.

 _Her hair looks like a rat's nest, but she's pretty enough. I suppose I can see why Sirius is so taken with her._

"I suppose this is something I'll have to get used to," he finally added quietly.

"And what is that?"

"Having a friend."

Hermione smiled brightly now flew into his arms. "And don't you forget it!"

He scoffed, unsuccessfully trying to push her away. "Yes, yes, stop hugging me! It will ruin my reputation!"

His worries were ignored, no matter how much he squirmed.

"Thank you, Severus," she whispered happily. He cleared his throat uncomfortably and patted her back in what he hoped was a comforting manner.

"Yes, well, you're welcome, I suppose."

She finally stepped away, smiling brightly, and began her trek to the Head Girl's tower. Severus waited a few moments longer, straightened out his robes crumpled from the girl's tears, and made his way towards the Quidditch pitch, grateful that no other students had been there to witness his moment of weakness.

The Head Girl's tower exploded into motion the moment Hermione walked through.

"Hermione!" Iris shrieked as she ran over, grasping her hands. "Tell me everything about Vincent, starting from the top!"

"Iris!" Lily groaned. "Don't you think we ought to fill her in first?"

"Fill me in on what?" Hermione asked confused, her gaze flittering between Lily and Iris.

Iris perked up immediately. "Yes, the news!" She dragged Hermione over to the sofa, pushed her onto it and then perched at the other side, immediately launching into conversation.

"I thought that Sirius was going to have a heart attack when Vincent kissed you in the Great Hall!" Iris began.

"I'm pretty sure he did," Lily muttered.

"Anyways, as soon as you left Sirius turned this bright shade of red. I thought he was going to explode! Once Dumbledore let us out, he ran towards the Common room."

"I stopped him on his way," Lily jumped in, "and told him in no uncertain terms that if he didn't decide to change, that you were better off with Vincent Leon."

"Right after that, Sirius charged into the Gryffindor common room, marched up to Daphne and told her that since she begged him to take her to the Hallow's Eve dance the night he found her crying over the fact that Lucius Malfoy turned her down, he would take her, but that she would have better luck finding love with Grindelwald's corpse!" Iris finished, shrieking.

"And as soon as he said that, Sirius and Remus marched over here, found James, and now they're off drinking butterbeers and plotting ways to get between you and Vincent," Lily smirked.

Hermione sat back on the couch, shock stealing the words out of her mouth. She sat there for a few minutes, and Iris and Lily took turns looking at each other and then looking at her.

"Wow," Hermione finally whispered.

"That's all you have to say? Wow?" Iris practically exploded. "It's amazing! It's a miracle! It's-"

"a little overwhelming, I'm sure, so how about you give us a few minutes?" Lily interrupted, shooting Iris a look. Iris pouted, but then turned to Hermione.

"As long as you promise to tell us all about Vincent at dinner!"

"I promise," Hermione smiled.

"Great! Oh I can't wait, I'm going to go tell the girls!" With one final squeal Iris twirled her way out of Head Girl's tower.

"How does she have so much energy?" Hermione asked in wonder.

Lily snorted. "Any tidbit of gossip is like a shot of adrenaline to her system." She moved to Iris' old place on the couch, sat next to Hermione and began to study her face. "Are you okay?"

Hermione sighed, covering her face with her hands. "Yes."

"Really?"

"No," she stated, exasperated. "It's just a lot to take in. First I think that Sirius is making an effort to change his immature ways, and then Daphne happens and I think he hasn't changed at all, then Vincent shows up and I realize after the dance I'm never going to see him again, and now I find out that Sirius has in fact changed and is hurting because of all of this and it's just so much."

Lily sat quietly for a minute before asking the question on the tip of her tongue. "What do you mean you're never going to see Vincent again?"

Hermione began to cry again, and Lily wrapped her arms around her and pulled her into her arms. Sobbing, Hermione began to speak.

"Vincent, he's family, you know? And I can see things. I can see things about the future, and I knew the moment I hugged him in the Great Hall that the dance would be the last time I would see him before he would be-" at that Hermione broke off and began to sob harder, unable to finish the sentence. Lily knew, however, and rubbed her back supportingly.

"Do you think we should tell the boys about this?" Lily began, tentative.

Hermione shook her head. "Not now. Maybe after. I don't want that to make its way around the school too."

Lily nodded in agreement. "That's probably for the best. I'm so sorry, Mya. I wish there was some way I could help."

Drying her tears, Hermione turned to face her. "I have you as a friend. That's more than enough."

Lily began to smile, and even Hermione laughed – well, she giggled between a few hiccups. That made Lily giggle gaily.

"Well, then. Since it seems that Sirius Black is, in fact, completely smitten with you, why don't we get ready for dinner and then add some fuel to the fire?"

"How would I do that?"

"Oh, I'm sure you've got some stories," Lily cackled.

Hermione grinned and shook her finger in mock-disapproval at her. "Lily Evans, you have that "I'm-plotting-something-devious" look on your face again!"

Lily gasped in fake shock. "Who, me?"

Lily's plan was quite simple, really. She picked out a new outfit for Hermione, worked her magic on Hermine's curly hair until it fell down in soft, cascading ringlets, and then acted as a buffer between Hermione and Sirius at dinner time. Not that the buffer was necessary; Hermione found that as soon as she entered the Great Hall a gaggle of Gryffindor girls dragged her over to the table, sat her down and began pestering her with questions all about the great Vincent Leon and his band of French boys. The modified were a lot of help, but Hermione added certain embellishments from her own memories with Harry and Ron. She told them all about the troll her first year, going with a Bulgarian Quidditch player to the Beauxbatons Yule Ball and how angry Vincent was that she didn't tell him, about Vincent's disastrous first encounter with a Hippogriff, about spending the New Years with Friedrich and Giorgio – the names of two of Vincent's bandmates, Hermione noted ironically – and the summer they spent travelling up and down the river Seine.

The girls ate every story up with relish and continually argued amongst themselves whether or not Hermione and Vincent were "meant to be." Sitting on the next bench down was none other than Sirius Black and the Marauders, and Sirius spent all of his meal glaring at his food while James and Remus shot Lily and Mya very conspicuous winks. Lily just rolled her eyes, but it made Hermione feel better. Maybe this would all work out the way she had hoped, after all.

The following Saturday was the fall Hogsmeade trip, and Hermione found herself walking to the village with Lily and the Marauders. Lily and James were as far ahead of the group as they could be – James was trying to treat this like their first date, but Sirius was doing everything in his power to make sure that they didn't have a moment to themselves on the way there. Hermione and Remus hung back, chuckling as James tackled Sirius into a pile of leaves, ignoring Lily's shouts of protest.

"So, how have things been with you Mya?" Remus asked, turning to her.

Hermione smiled. "Much better than the beginning of the semester, that's for sure. Classes are great, and I'm keeping up with the work well-"

"So I've noticed," he chuckled. "James wouldn't be caught up on any of his homework if you didn't force him to do it when he visits Lily."

Hermione laughed. "Well, since it's a nightly occurrence now – which I think is adorable, by the way – I figured I might as well try to instill a decent work ethic into him."

Remus threw his head back in laughter. "Wanna try instilling that in Sirius too?"

"What are you two laughing on about, huh?" Sirius called from the front of the group.

Remus cleared his throat. "Mya here was just noting how I'm the only mature, disciplined member of the group." She snorted, and he turned to wink at her. "Well, she may not have used those exact terms-"

"Or those words at all!" She added in.

"Mature, huh?" Sirius said, springing up out of the pile of leaves. Then he was off like a shot, and before Hermione knew it he had tossed Remus into the pile of leaves next to James and leapt onto both of them.

"Aughhhhh!"

"Get your blooming ass off me, you bloody wanker!"

"Tut tut, Potter, such language."

"You mangy mutt!"

"Remus, you say the sweetest things."

Hermione finally caught up with Lily, who was rolling her eyes at the entire scene. "I'm surprised they made it this far. So much for our date."

Hermione elbowed her. "Don't talk like that; I'll make sure to restrain the others once we get to the village."

"If we get there," Lily muttered.

Hermione arched an eyebrow. "I wonder how far away we can get before they realize we've gone missing!" She whispered in a conspiratorial manner.

Lily smirked. "Let's find out."

They were about forty feet away when the boys noticed that they couldn't hear the girls anymore.

"Hey!" James called out, leaping to his feet.

Hermione turned to Lily, a wide grin on her face. "Run!" She yelled. The two girls took off in a furious sprint, the boys behind them instantly leaping into action. Hermione ran alongside the path while Lily headed into the shallow trees, vaulting over branches. The girls shrieked as they heard loud footsteps, meaning that the boys gaining on them.

Hogsmeade suddenly came into view, and Hermione and Lily gave their last burst of energy. They ran screaming past Lucuis Malfoy and the Slytherins, accidentally knocked into Daphne and Artemis, and raced into the town square.

They reached the middle, gasping for breath and laughing hysterically. They could hear shouts behind them as James and Sirius pushed through the Slytherins.

Lily turned to Hermione. "Do you want to go for a run sometime?"

She grinned. "That sounds great to me!"

"Yeah, you can count me out on that," James wheezed, falling into the middle of the circle.

Lily laughed, marched over and pulled him onto his feet. "Enough of that! I believe, James Potter, that you are going to take me on a date." Pulling her close suddenly, James' smiling eyes searched her face and a warm blush spread across her cheeks.

"I believe I do," he murmured softly. "Boys, it's been great, but I have a lady to attend to," he said, bowing to Sirius and Remus.

Sirius likewise returned the bow. "Until this afternoon, darling." Shooting him one last glare, James and Lily turned and walked towards the tavern in town. Lily turned to wave goodbye at Mya, and Hermione smiled, waving back.

"So boys," she began, her hands on her hips. "Looks like you're stuck with me."

Sirius began to smile widely, but before he could speak Remus elbowed him in the gut.

"That we are, Mya. You've never been here before, right?" Remus began, ignoring Sirius' protests of pain.

"Just once to get robes when I first arrived. Care to show me around?"

"But of course!" Sirius jumped in. Grabbing Hermione's arm, he looped it tightly through his own and began dragging her through the streets. Remus followed behind and winked at Hermione as she turned around to look at him, her eyes rolling.

Hermione spent the rest of the afternoon being dragged around by Sirius and exploring Hogsmeade. She had managed to stop in the bookstore, but after forty five minutes of browsing Sirius had suddenly thought it was a great idea to charm books to scream whenever Slytherins walked through the door. Needless to say, Hermione dragged him out of the bookshop soon after that. They spent far longer than she would have liked at Dervish and Banges, spent more money than she thought necessary at Honeydukes, and finally met with James and Lily for dinner at The Three Broomsticks, who were beaming like two people madly in love.

 _Good_ , she thought. _I can't wait to share this with Harry._

Sirius noticed the smiles too, and began teasing James mercilessly throughout the dinner, only stopping when Lily threatened to hex his unmentionables.

Dusk was beginning to settle as they began their trek back to the castle. Lily skipped over to Hermione and whispered loudly, "Do you think we should try to run away again?"

The boys, who were walking in front of them at the time paused, and before Hermione knew it James had thrown Lily over her shoulder. She laughed at the sight, but then felt the ground rush towards her and then suddenly away as Sirius threw her over his. Hermione began to sputter and kick wildly.

"Sirius Black, put me down right this instant!"

"No."

"No?"

"No."

"And why not?"

She could practically feel the smile radiating off his place. "I'll take any change I can get to have you in my arms – well, sort of. Now, if you stop kicking, maybe we can get to the castle faster. "

Hermione growled and crossed her arms against his back. She glanced over at Lily, who was having no success struggling against James.

"Everything going okay back there?" She heard Remus call.

She began to grumble, which made Sirius laugh out loud. "They are perfectly docile, Lupin."

"I'll give you perfectly docile," Hermione grumbled.

"You can give me anything you want, darling."

Her face flushing, she just resumed growling. Her mind, however, was throwing a party.

 _Just admit it. You enjoy being "sort of" in his arms._

 _Of course I do!_ She snapped back. _But I shouldn't! I'm supposed to save him, not fall in love with him!_

 _So you are falling in love with him, then._

 _Oh shut it_ , she spat back.

 _You can't teach someone to change, Mione. It doesn't work like that. The only thing that changes people is love. Look at Iris and Finn!_

 _Maybe you're right,_ she mused.

 _Of course I'm right! I'm you!_

Hermione giggled audibly at that.

"Did I miss something?" Sirius called over his shoulder.

Hermione smiled. "Oh no, just a wonderful view of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team-"

Before she could finish her sentence, he had swung her into his arms so he was now cradling her in his arms.

"Won't you get tired of carrying me?" She asked, gazing up at his face.

"Never," he replied, his stormy eyes gazing confidently into hers. Swallowing, she turned her focus to his coat and rested her head on his shoulder so she could avoid gazing into his eyes.

 _Too soon for that_ , she decided. _But maybe at the dance._

They arrived back at Hogwarts sooner than both Hermione and Sirius would have liked. Entering the main hallway, he finally set her onto the floor and she grasped onto his arms, to steady herself. He pulled her close instantly, and she found herself staring into his eyes.

"Thanks for the lift," she gasped breathily.

"Anytime." Sirius replied, not letting go of her arms.

Noticing Daphne arm and arm with Tristan Nott, Hermione nodded in her direction. "Isn't that your date to the ball?"

Sirius turned to look and growled. "Unfortunately."

"Well, it's just a dance," Hermione offered.

"Heard anything from yours?" He asked, turning back. His eyes grew cold as his face searched her desperately.

Hermione was about to shake her head when Gawain flew into the corridor and dropped a large package into her arms.

"This must be the dress he ordered for me," she mused.

She could feel Sirius begin to shake. "He ordered your dress for you?"

Hermione shrugged. "Yeah, he wanted it to match with his suit, I think. He always had excellent taste."

Sirius stepped away. "Well, let's have a look at the blasted thing then."

Resisting the urge to peek, Hermione raised her eyes to his and smirked.

"No."

"No? Why not?"

"Because," she replied matter-of-factly, "Prince Charming didn't see Cinderella's dress until the ball." Then, before she could talk herself out of it, she kissed Sirius Black on the cheek. "Thanks for the great day," she murmured softly.

Sirius froze, stunned. Hermione stepped away, looped Lily's arm under her own, wished the rest of the boys a good night, and skipped off towards their tower, guessing wildly about what this mysterious dress looked like.

Remus, who had watched the entire exchange, walked over with James and Peter to Sirius' side.

"What was that all about, Black?" He asked.

A huge smiled erupted on Sirius' face.

"It means, gentlemen," he whooped, throwing his hands around James and Remus, "that I'm still in the game."


	13. Chapter 13

The day of the dance was upon them before they knew it. Hermione only got a chance to see the boys briefly that morning, for as soon as she had taken her last sip of orange juice Iris and Lily had dragged her away for a day of "pampering." The girls did everything, from putting on their makeup and doing their hair "the muggle way" to the obligatory two hour sing along to every Elvis song Hermione knew ever. Honestly, she was really thankful for the distraction. Hermione didn't know how to feel about Vincent – or Sirius, for that matter – and spending the day with Lily and Iris was just what the doctor ordered.

Finally, six o'clock arrived. Hermione was putting the finishing touches on her lipstick when Lily walked into the room.

Hermione turned to look at her and stopped, dazzled. Lily was wearing a full length white dress with silver beads everywhere. It clung to her slender figure, and with her hair coiffed and pinned up she looked like a vintage movie star.

"Lily," Hermione whispered. "You look absolutely stunning."

"Thank you!" Lily squeaked happily. Twirling around, she stopped to look at Hermione. "You look pretty beautiful yourself, Mya."

Hermione looked down at her dress. To say the gown was beautiful was an understatement. Vincent had perfect taste – and somehow knew her measurements. The dress was a piece of rose red satin art. The bodice had a sweetheart neckline with two straps that hung off her shoulders, reminding her of the animated movie she had watched once with her parents. The skirt was full, and the fabric was gathered up in bunches to look like her skirt was actually made of roses. Her long curly hair was pulled back into a low updo, and the top of her head was coiffed to give her that Victorian look. Silver earrings completed the look, and as Hermione turned to carefully examine herself in the mirror, she sighed happily. She truly felt like a princess.

"Girls! Are you ready?" Iris had been done for about an hour now, and had spent the rest of the time fretting about whether or not her dress was nice enough, if Cedric would like it. It had taken every ounce of Hermione's willpower not to strangle the girl, and after several reassurances, Iris had settled down. She was wearing a strapless purple dress with a full chiffon skirt. Hermione honestly thought it was horrifying, but Lily had insisted it was "in", so Hermione just nodded along.

"We're coming!" Hermione snatched up her silver clutch and raced after Lily. Collecting Iris in the common room, the three girls began the trek to the Great Hall.

"I can't wait to see what the boys look like!" Iris gushed.

Lily snorted. "I just hope James isn't wearing his Quidditch robes like last year."

Hermione tuned them out as they continued to chat about the last Hallow's Eve ball. Her stomach was churning with nerves. Not only was she going to see Vincent again – and meet her supposedly "other old friends" - the knowledge that this would be the last time saddened her. Granted, she had only met him once, but the memories were powerful, and being the sensitive soul she was, Hermione couldn't help but mourn.

However, when they made the last turn into the hallway all of those thoughts vanished. There he was – well, there they both were. Sirius was standing next to Vincent, shooting daggers at him with his glare. Vincent, ignoring him, was talking animatedly to two tall men Hermione suddenly recognized as French students.

"Vincent," she breathed.

The noise in the Great Hall died down instantly. He turned to look at her, and as soon as their eyes met, he face broke into a wide grin.

"Gentlemen, if you will excuse me, my beautiful date has just arrived." Winking at Sirius, who just growled in reply, Vincent strode over to Hermione's side and kissed her hand, all the while staring in her eyes.

"You look beautiful, my wild English rose," he spoke, dropping to one knee. Hermione blushed and was about to respond when the two Frenchmen she saw before suddenly ran up to them.

"Mya!" The tallest one, a handsome young man with short brown hair – Etienne, her memories supplied – swept her off her feet. Spinning her around, he kissed her cheek repeatedly before setting her down.

"Vincent, you cannot keep herself, you scoundrel!" The other Frenchman – Jacques – broke in. Kneeling down in front of her, he began to kiss her hand repeatedly. "Mya, mi amor, how my 'eart 'as missed seeing your beautiful face!"

By this point Hermione was blushing all over. Sensing her discomfort, Vincent chuckled and pulled her away. "Now, now, boys, behave yourselves, lest your lovely dates get the wrong idea!"

"You brought dates?" Hermione asked, surprised.

"Of course! They left them by those friends of yours. Serious Black, I think is his name?" Slapping Jacques and Etienne on the back, the four headed over to Hermione's Gryffindor friends.

Daphne Martinerre was glowering at her from her spot next to Sirius. She wore a tight black dress that left nothing to the imagination, but to her immense irritation, Sirius didn't say a word. The two French girls – both blondes, she noted dryly – stood behind her, babbling in French. Daphne didn't care enough to try to understand; she was more than happy to glare at anyone who looked at her.

James had gone mute upon Lily's arrival. Sirius and Remus had complimented her on her dress, but James just stood there, his smile stretched so wide Lily thought he might strain a muscle in his face. She said as much, but James simply drew her into his arms and kissed her soundly on the lips, much to Lily's embarrassment and delight. After that, he wrapped his arms tightly around her and didn't let her go, content to listen to the conversation around them as he held her in his arms.

Hermione almost cried when she saw the sight. Making a mental note to herself to show this memory to Harry, Hermione and Vincent arrived at the group and were greeted warmly. Well, Remus and James greeted her warmly. Sirius just stared.

It had taken her a few moments to work up the courage to look at Sirius, but when she did, she found she was staring into his eyes. His normally stormy grey eyes were even darker than usual, and he looked at her with such longing that Hermione's heart began to ache.

"Ma cherie, ees time to go eat dinner." Vincent whispered. His words snapped Hermione back to reality, and she looked away from Sirius with a sad smile. Remembering her duty to Vincent, she took his arm and shot him her warmest smile. Vincent winked at her and led the group into the Great Hall.

Dinner was a rather boisterous affair. Vincent, Etienne and Jacques entertained the table with stories from France about their many adventures with Mya. James, finally finding his voice after consuming two glasses of wine, began contributing his own animated stories, and soon even the always-sour-Daphne was shaking with laughter.

The students were just finishing up dessert when Vincent and the boys excused themselves to start the music. Vincent kissed Hermione's cheek, and as soon as he walked away Iris plopped down next to Hermione and began pestering her with questions.

"Vincent is so wonderful! Even Finn agrees, and you know how difficult to please Finn is." At this Hermione looked over at Lily, who rolled her eyes in commiseration. "And you two make such a lovely couple! Why aren't you dating? Are you waiting for him to ask?"

Hermione sighed, shaking her head. "Vincent and I are just friends. It would be too strange to be anything else." _And impossible_ , she added silently.

Iris looked at Hermione sadly and patted her arm. "I'm sorry. I can't even imagine how hard it must be." Hermione looked across the table at Sirius, who was talking with Daphne and the two French girls.

"You have no idea," she whispered. Following Hermione's gaze, Iris looked over at Sirius and then back at Lily in shock. Lily just sighed and nodded.

"Good evening, students of Hogwarts!" Vincent's voice rang throughout the Great Hall, and all of its occupants turned to face the stage and dance floor. "My name is Vincent Leon-" at this several girls screamed, drowning out the rest of his sentence. "Thank you," he smiled, winking at the table in front. "At this time I'd like to call everyone onto the dance floor. We're gonna start things off with an old muggle song that took the world by storm decades ago. Ladies and gentlemen, 'I've Got You Under My Skin.'" Turning around, he signaled to the band who leapt into a jazzy rendition of the song.

"May I have this dance, Ms. Evans?" James asked, jumping onto his feet.

Lily blushed and nodded. "You may, Mr. Potter."

Hermione looked across the table where Daphne was dragging Sirius onto the dance floor. Moving her hips suggestively, Daphne kept fluttering her eyelashes at Sirius, but he just growled in reply and spun her away from him.

Hermione sighed, and was about to turn back to watch Lily and James when she felt a hand on her shoulder. "I believe you owe me the first dance of the evening, Ms. Delacourt," Vincent crooned softly. Hermione blinked at him in shock, and before she knew it they were out on the floor and he was singing.

Spinning in and out of his arms, Hermione smiled widely. _So this is what a proper Yule Ball should be like! Spent dancing with your friends, not with some strange Bulgarian Quidditch player who leaves you the minute the wine runs out._ Hermione watched him as they danced. His eyes stared back at her, but his gaze was somewhere else, lost in the melodies he was creating. Swept up in the music, they moved in time to the rhythm, and before she knew it the song had ended and he had dipped her, the loose tendrils of her hair touching the floor.

The band leapt into a faster paced song, and Hermione smiled at Vincent as he pulled her up. "Thank you so much, for everything. This dance, for the memories, for this-"

"Do not mention it, mademoiselle. I would do it all over again. I only regret not meeting you sooner," he whispered, kissing her cheek. Spinning her out of his arms, he winked at her, his attempt at bravado not masking the sadness in his eyes. Turning back towards the stage, he leapt into singing the next song.

Hermione turned around, trying to stop the tears from falling down her face, and found herself being pulled back into the middle of the dance floor by Lily and Iris.

"Hey now! No tears, you hear me Frenchie?" Iris shouted above the din of the room, shaking her finger at her in jest.

"Brown's right! Just enjoy the night, girl!" Lily replied. Nodding, Hermione grabbed hold of their hands again and the three girls began to jump and shake to the beat, laughing heartily when the song ended. A faster jig began, and Hermione found herself dancing again, this time with James, who swung her wildly around the room and practically sent her crashing into Lucius and Narcissa. Peter was next in line, and he focused on counting his steps the entire time, to Hermione's amusement. Remus stepped up next for a vigorous rendition of "the chicken dance," and Hermione was gasping for breath by the end, her sides aching from laughter.

Stepping away from Remus, a hand tapped her hesitantly on the shoulder. Turning around, she gasped. "Severus?"

He grimaced as she looked at him. He looked rather nice, Hermione concluded. His all black dress robes were tailored to fit him perfectly, making his familiar sneer even more jarring.

"I don't suppose you would be willing to dance with me?" He asked quietly, staring down Remus.

Hermione beamed. "I'd love to!" Practically throwing herself into his arms, the two began to waltz around the room.

"I'm so glad you came!" Hermione began to chatter. "Are you having a nice time?"

"No," Severus replied, and swung her out into the crowd to avoid her slap.

"Well, why did you come then?"

"Narcissa insisted," he groaned. "Heaven knows why I can't say no to that woman."

"Oh really," Hermione sang, spinning back to him.

He growled, furrowing his brow. "Tell that to anyone and I'll deny it."

Hermione scoffed. "It won't leave this dance, I promise."

Severus' face relaxed, and he continued to waltz around the ballroom with Hermione in companionable silence.

"Thank you for the dance," Hermione whispered when the song had ended. He swept his arm into a deep bow, and Hermione curtsied back. "I'm rather glad you came."

Severus' mouth quirked up in what Hermione hoped was a smile. "I suppose it wasn't a complete waste. Any chance to annoy Sirius Black – and spend time with my friend," he added quickly when he saw the glare on her face. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to make myself scarce before Black decides to hang my corpse on the wall."

With that he swept away, and Hermione found herself staring at an angry Sirius Black. "Are you okay?" He half-shouted, searching her arms for any signs of bruises or other Slytherin nastiness.

Hermione snatched her arms away, laughing nervously. "Yes, I'm fine."

"Good. Then you won't object to dancing with me."

"I-" Hermione started to respond, but Sirius had caught her up into his arms and practically carried her back onto the dance floor.

"For the last song of the evening, I give you another classic. Thank you all so much for a great ball. Ladies and Gentlemen, "The Way You Look Tonight.""

Setting her down gently on the floor, Sirius drew her in close and held her tenderly, like she might break underneath his fingers. Hermione laced her hand in his. The music started, and the two slowly circled around the room. Sighing, she laid her head on his chest.

"I haven't told you yet, but you are by far the most beautiful girl in the room," Sirius murmured as he began stroking the small of her back.

Hermione chuckled. "You don't look so bad yourself." Turning to face him, she looked up in his eyes, her head still resting on his chest. "Are you having a good time?"

"Quite. I was able to pass Daphne off onto Ravenclaw's fifth year seeker twenty minutes ago, and she hasn't come up for air since." He looked across the room amused as Professor McGonagall slapped the new couple on the wrist for excessive "public displays of affection."

"Are you having a nice time?" Sirius asked, turning back to look at Hermione.

She sighed, looking at the floor. His brow furrowed and he stopped dancing, lifting up his chin so he could look in her eyes. "What's wrong?"

Hermione just shook her head. "Oh, nothing."

"It's obviously something. You can talk to me Mya," he whispered pleadingly as he pulled her off to the side.

Finally, Hermione looked up at him. "It's Vincent," she whispered tearfully. "I have to say goodbye."

Sirius' arms immediately became rigid and he stepped back. "I'm sure you'll see him again," he replied coldly.

Hermione shook her head vigorously. "No I won't."

"You don't know that," he spat back. Turning away from her, he was about to walk away when he heard her pained whisper.

"Yes, I do." Sirius ran his eyes over his face, blanching when he saw the pain shining out of them.

"Mya, I-"

The song ended, and Hermione turned towards the stage tearfully as the crowd began to dismiss.

"Mya!" Sirius called, but she continued to walk straight towards Vincent.

"Hey, Black, you coming back to the tower with us? Lily has some butterbeer stashed in her common room," James asked as he walked over, throwing his arms over Sirius' shoulder.

"I'll be there in a bit, I'm gonna wait for Mya." Seeing the pained expression on Sirius' face, James muttered a quick "Suit yourself" and ran back to Lily.

Hermione reached the stage just as Vincent and the boys had finished packing up. She kissed Etienne and Jacques goodbye, and the two boys left with their dates. Offering her his arm one last time, Vincent and Hermione walked out of the Great Hall, down the hallway and outside Hogwarts. Hermione shivered in the cold fall air, and once they reached the apparition point Hermione turned and threw herself into Vincent's arms.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered. Vincent rubbed her back comfortingly, tears threatening to spill down his face.

"There ees nothing to apologize for, ma cherie," he whispered back.

Hermione shook her head. "You've just done so much, and now-" _Now I'll never seen you again_. She pulled away and smiled at him sadly. "I'm going to miss you."

Vincent stroked her cheek lovingly and she rested her head in his palm. "I will miss you too, mi amor. I will always miss zee girl who stole my memories and my heart."

Hermione bit her lip hard as he hugged her one last time. "I need to be going, Mya."

"I know," she choked out. "Be safe." She pulled away, grasping his arms. "Promise me you'll be safe."

"I promise," he smiled. Leaning in, he kissed her on the cheek one last time before disappearing into the night.

As soon as Hermione heard the crack of disapparation she let herself sob. Tears streamed down her face and she fought her body, refusing to sink on to the cold ground. She began a long, slow walk back to the castle, and by the time she had walked through the front door most of the tears had dried.

"Mya?"

Hermione turned to the left and saw Sirius sitting on the windowsill, worry etched in his eyes. Seeing her tears, he leapt down and began walking quickly to her side. "Are you-"

He was silenced as Hermione threw herself into his arms, wrapping her arms around him tightly. She began to cry again, and Sirius rubbed his hands up and down her back, doing his best to quiet her tears.

"I'm sure you'll see him again," he whispered.

Hermione sniffled. "Not in this life."

Sirius froze. "How-"

He felt Hermione sigh and grab onto him tighter. "I Saw."

"Oh. OH." Feeling foolish for his jealousy, he hugged her tighter. Hermione buried her face in his jacket and breathed him in, thankful for a familiar scent on such an emotional evening.

A little while later she pulled away. He looked into her face worriedly. "Are you sure you're going to be all right?"

Nodding, Hermione reached for his hand and laced his fingers through her own. Gazing up into his eyes, she smiled softly. "I think so."

Sirius felt his heart burst with happiness, and he beamed at her in spite of himself. Hermione began to laugh, and sweeping into a courtly bow, he led her up to the Head Girl's Tower to rejoin their friends. Hermione smiled to herself as she watched his handsome face in the firelight. _Yes, I certainly think so._


End file.
